Household budget
1. Cost of living.
Once, I lived in Tokyo for a while. Cost of living in the city was a challenge, especially the rent, but managed it somehow.
Prices in Tokyo rank the third highest in the world after Oslo and Zurich.
Depending the size and location of your room, the average of renting a room in Tokyo is around ¥75,000 ($660), other expenditure for food, gas, electricity, mobile phone, internet, and so on add up to around ¥170,000 ($1500).
So, a preferable work around is to live outside Tokyo. (Saitama and Chiba would work.)
2. Tax.
Universally common, there are variety of taxes everyone enjoys. (Yeah)
There are; consumption tax, income tax, resident tax, inheritance tax, fixed-asset tax, and so many. There are indirect taxes on; tobacco, alcohol, cars, gas...etc.
In total, tax burden in Japan is 22.7%, which is lower is Sweden, the UK or France.
3. Income.
The average monthly salary of Japanese workers after tax is ¥340,000 ($3,000). (in 2012) When compared to US, where the average salary is equivalent to ¥390,000 ($3,450). Considering basic expenses, salaries don't seem so high.
In addition to income, work hours in Japan tend to have longer hours when compared to France or Germany. Basic working hours is 40 hours a week, which is about the same as the US. However, overtime is big issue in many companies.
Comments