Employment
Compensation and benefits
Average salary :
The NTA's 2019 Private-Sector Salary Survey
The NTA's 2018 Private-Sector Salary Survey
Salary guides :
Various job posting sites and headhunters publish salary guides. Those actors have an interest in attracting candidates and do not disclose their methodology, so those should not be considered as reliable. However they can be used to get a rough idea of the market they operate in, or to reflect on career paths.
Job posting websites :
Headhunters - usually needs an (disposable if needed) email address to access : Robert Walters, Robert Half, Michael Page, Morgan Mckinley, Hays
Salaries per company :
Vorkers, a Glassdoor equivalent
Salaries per job category :
OpenSalary for Software Engineering jobs
The "five-year rule" for conversion to indefinite-term employment
Visa
Some Visa restrict you to an employer in Japan or to do business outside Japan.
Housing
Please refer to the Income Tax page for details, outline is :
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Relocation (for work purposes) allowances are not taxable
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Housing allowance, an amount paid along with salary, is taxable. Since the company can choose to remove this allowance, it is less secure and flexible than pure salary while being taxed in the same way.
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Company housing, where the company rents the housing and the employee pays back a part of it, is non-taxable (except the part being paid back). This is usually financially attractive.
Home leave
Please refer to the Income Tax page for details. An air ticket per year, direct to (spouse's) home country, for a foreign employee and family, may be non-taxable
Retirement allowance
Please refer to the Income Tax page for details. Based on number of years of service, a retirement allowance (paid to an employee when leaving the company) can be tax free up to a point.
Commuting
Commuting allowance is normally considered tax free.
Insurance coverage while going to work: https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/comments/mg9orv/work_commuting_rules_law/gssz5n0/