LEAVER'S GUIDE

Your Successor

CORRESPONDENCE WITH YOUR SUCCESSOR

Surely you remember the last few weeks before you left your own home country to start your own Japanese adventure a year ago, two years ago, three years ago. You no doubt had a million questions and worries, wonders and ponderings. There were probably so many things that you wished you could have asked about: where you would be living, what your daily life would be like and what you might need to pack to get you there and started up.

Make contact with your successor as soon as you get their contact details. When giving information, try to be perceptive enough to answer the questions that they cannot possibly imagine yet, from the perspective of someone who may never have even been abroad before. On the other hand, be cautious of flooding them with less relevant information, which will only increase their stress levels in the frantic build up to departure.

Be sure to provide information about the following:

• Details of your apartment/ house/ shack. Include a plan, a list of equipment, and information about utilities and rubbish (US: garbage) collection, etc.
• Your Office. Names of key people, a fair assessment of the English ability of your colleagues, suggestions for arrival gifts, etc.
• Working hours, dress codes, rules you are expected to follow.
• Schools. How many, where they are, school lunch arrangements, getting to and from them.
• Your city/ town/ vending machine. Where to shop, rent videos, where to eat and drink, information on hospitals and medical services. Including a map is a good idea.
• Information about other ALTs/ foreigners living in your area.
• Financial information. (Salary, how much you spend, how much they should bring, etc
• Send photos if you want to, a digital camera is ideal for this.

Try to avoid

• Too many of your own personal dislikes / likes.
• Colouring your successor's outlook on working and living in Japan before they even get here.
• Including personal information about your colleagues.

You are unlikely to receive your successor's contact details and information until the end of May, but in the meantime you can start preparing!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TICKET OR CASH?

Contracting Organisations (your Board of Education, or Kencho) differ in their policies towards providing the return airfare for their returning JET participants. In order to be eligible to have your ticket (or no-questions-asked cash) provided, you must fulfill three conditions:

• Complete your JET contract period (up until the very last day)
• Be not entering a subsequent contract with your Contracting Organsiation, or a third party in Japan, within one month of the completion of your current contract.
• Return to your home country within one month of the completion of your contract.

IF YOU WISH TO TRAVEL IN JAPAN AFTER LEAVING JET, BEAR IN MIND THAT YOU MUST LEAVE THE COUNTRY WITHIN A MONTH (OR AT LEAST GIVE THIS IMPRESSION), OTHERWISE YOU WILL FOREFEIT YOUR RETURN AIRFARE PROVISION. (See also: VISAS)

Remember to ask your supervisor well in advance about how your Contracting Organsiation will provide for your return airfare. If they decide to offer you cash, you will likely be responsible for purchasing your own ticket, and making your own travel arrangements. You may have to pay the initial deposit (and possibly the balance) from your own funds, to be reimbursed at a later date. The sooner you find out, the better chance your have of securing the flight you want at a good price.

Around June, your supervisor will provide you with a "JET Return Travel Itinerary" form, which you must complete and submit to your Contracting Organisation. For further information, please refer to the General Handbook.

air ticket	???	koukuuken
cash	??	genkin
reservations	??	yoyaku
Return Travel Itinerary Form	JET ????????	JET sankasha kikokuyoteisho

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHANGING YOUR VISA TYPE

If you plan to stay in Japan after your current work visa expires (check your passport), whether for just one day or for a few weeks, you must change your status of residency to "TEMPORARY VISITOR", the same visa given to tourists visitingJapan.

You must change your visa type before your current visa expires (usually on the last day of your contract). If your JET visa expires on the same day as your contract, you will need to visit the Immigration Office before your visa expires, and request a "TEMPORARY VISITOR" visa to begin from the day after your contract ends.

The Immigration Office ask that you schedule time to make two visits to the office, as the visa cannot always be issued on the same day. Your first visit will be to apply for the visa, the second to get the approval stamped in your passport. You are recommended to make the first visit anytime from a month to a few days before your current visa expires.

There are four Immigration Offices in Yamaguchi Prefecture (Open 09:00 - 12:00, 13:00 - 16:00):

• Shimonoseki Branch Office, 8-2-1 Kamitanaka-cho, 750-0009. Tel: 0832-23-1431
• Ube Branch Office, 1-12-18 Minato-machi, 755-0027. Tel: 0836-21-3341
• Tokuyama Port Branch Office, 6-35 Minato-machi, 745-0045. Tel: 0834-21-1329
• Iwakuni Port Branch Office, 3-9-57 Shin Minato-machi, 740-0002. Tel: 0827-21-0926

For help in English or Spanish, there is also the Hiroshima Immigration Information Centre, 2-11 Hiroshima Godo-chosha, 6-30 Kami Hachobori, Naka-ku, 730-0012. Tel. 082-502-6060.

When you go to the Immigration Office, you will need to bring yourpassport, Alien Registration card, inkan and 4000yen in cash.

After you have obtained the new visa, you should get your status of residence changed on your Alien Registration, by taking your card, passport (with new visa) and inkan seal to your local city hall or yakuba.

You should not have to take nenkyu for your trips to the Immigration Office, and may use "special leave". If you wish to do this, then please make arrangements with your supervisor / teachers ahead of time to avoid difficulty.

visa	??	biza
expire	???	kireru
Temporary Visitor visa	???? ??	tanki taizai biza
Immigration Office	?????	nyuukoku kanri kyoku
special leave	????	tokubetsu kyuuka

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OBTAINING YOUR PENSION REFUND

For one, two, three or even more years now you will have been begrudgingly contributing to the Japanese Pension System. Every month a deduction is made from your salary for the National Pension Insurance, a kind of social security system. As a person not possessingJapanese citizenship, you are eligible for a one-off lump sum withdrawalof a percentage of the total amount you have contributed throughout your time with JET.

You must leave Japan after completing your contract to be eligiblefor the refund. Don't forget to hand in your Alien Registration card at the Airport - you cannot keep this as a souvenir.

The following figures only apply to JETs whose contracts expire in July/August 2004:

Arrived:	Months on JET:	Refund Vale:	After Tax(@20%):
July 2001	36	846,000yen	676,800yen
July 2002	24	534,000yen	427,200yen
July 2003	12	240,000yen	192,000yen

In April 2003, the Health Insurance and Pension Refund scheme was amended. Since then JETs have been paying slightly lower contributions. The result of this is that the total amount that can be obtained via the refund has been reduced. Put simply, all contributions you made up to April 2003 will be calculated at the old (higher) rate, and those made since April 2003 at the lower rate. Thoseof us whose time on JET spanned this amendment will notice that our refunds are significantlylower (or higher, depending on which set of rates you look at) than expected.

The following figures apply to ALL JETs who arrived in Japan after April 2003:

Months on JET:	Refund Rate: (% of monthly remuneration)	Refund Vale:	After Tax(@20%):
6 - 11 months	40%	120,000yen	96,000yen
12 - 17 months	80%	240,000yen	192,000yen
18 - 23 months	120%	360,000yen	288,000yen
24 -29 months	160%	480,000yen	384,000yen
30 - 35 months	200%	600,000yen	480,000yen
36 months+	240%	720,000yen	576,000yen

 

PENSION REFUND APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

1. Before leaving Japan, pick up an application form called a "Request of Arbitration for Lump-sum WithdrawalBenefit", from any Social Insurance Office. Alternatively, your local city/ town/ village hall may also have the form available in their Pensions Section.

2. The form is very simple, and instructions are available in English, Spanish as well as other languages. You will need to give simple personal information (date of birth, etc), in addition to designating a bank account for the refund to be paid into. The account must be in your name (be your account) and be held in your home country. The bank should then stamp your form to prove that the account number and other details are correct. If this is not possible then a simple bank statement should suffice for this purpose. You will also need to write your pension system number at the bottom of the form. If you have a blue pension book, use the "Basic Pension Number" box. If you have an orange book, fill in the "Employee's Pension Insurance Registration Number" box. Don't worry too much, just make sure that the number itself is correct.

3. Before leaving Japan, designate somebody to be your tax representative. Do this by obtaining and filling out a "Declaration Naming a Person to Administer the Taxpayer's Tax Affairs" form, also available from the Social Insurance Office. You can ask your supervisor or contracting organisation to be your representative.

4. Get hold of your Pension Book, if you don't already have it. (Your office may have been looking after it for you.)

5. As soon as you arrive in your home country, send the completed "Request of Arbitration for Lump-Sum WithdrawalBenefit" back to the following address:

Social Insurance Agency
Takaido Nishi 3-5-25, Suginami-ku
Tokyo 168-8505
JAPAN

Be sure to include with your application form:

• Your Japanese Pension Book (Blue, sometimes Orange)
• Copies of passport pages showing your name, date of birth, date of departure from Japan, nationality, resident status and signature.
• Verificationby your bank of your account details (if the form is not stamped).

Don't forget to make a copy of your application before you send it.

6. Two to six months later, your refund we be credited to your account. Around the same time, you will receive a 'receipt of payment' in the post. Send this to your designated tax representative in Japan, who will file it at the tax office on your behalf. They will receive the tax rebate, and then send it on to you (provided you give them your account details).

NOTES

• Pension Refund claims must be filed within two years of leaving japan.
• A person with a Japanese spouse or child is not barred from collecting the refund, provided they are not themselves a Japanese citizen.
• You are advised not to spend the refund in advance, as the whole process may take up to a year to complete.

pension refund		biza
Social Insurance Office	???	kireru
"Request of Arbitration for Lm-SumWithdrawalBenefit" form	???? ??	tanki taizai biza
Lump-Sum Withdrawalpayment	?????	nyuukoku kanri kyoku
"Declaration Naming a Person to Administer the Taxpayer's Tax Affairs" form	????	tokubetsu kyuuka
Tax Representative	?????	nouzei kanrinin

 

HEALTH INSURANCE

Your public health insurance policy, which pays 70% of your medical fees, expires on the last day of your contract. Coverage under the JET Programme Accident Insurance Policy ends on the day you return to your home country, or August 31st, whichever is sooner.

If you stay in Japan after finishing your contract, you will have to rely on the Accident Insurance Policy for medical emergencies. To make a claim, contact the "Sompo Japan English Hotline" on 0120-08-1572 in Japan, or you can call collect on 0081-3-3593-1572 if abroad. For further policy information, call CLAIR.

From the day you arrive in your home country you will have to make your own arrangementsfor health insurance as you will no longer be covered by either Japanese policy. If you plan to travel after your contract ends (in Japan or elsewhere) you are strongly advised to purchase separate healthcare/ theft and loss insurance.

Note:

If you give birth to a child (anywhere in the world) within 6 months of leaving JET, and you were enrolled in the health insurance system for at least a year, you maybe entitled to claim a 300,000yen one-off payment. You do not need to be in Japan to claim this.

 

 

 

DISPOSING OF YOUR CAR

If you are unable to find somebody to privately sell or pass your car onto, or it is deemed to have no value by a car dealership, you will have to dispose of it yourself. You will be liable for vehicle tax until your car is properly disposed of (the necessary paperwork is completed and the car is physically disposed of).

Warning: Don't try to 'dispose' of your car by ditching it at the airport, leaving it at the side of the road, rolling it off a cliff, etc. Even without licence plates it can still be identifiedas yours. Your home details are still registered in Japan and you will receive a bill for the disposal eventually.

If you bought your car from a dealer, this is the best place to take it to for disposal. If you didn't , there are many disposal companies and dealerships which will dispose of it for you (for a fee). Necessary documents include:

• Vehicle Inspection Certificate
• Front and Rear Licence Plates
• Certificate of Disposal (from the disposal company, or necessary documents from the licensingcentre if you dispose of it yourself)
• Your Inkan and Proof of Inkan Registration (obtainable from city hall)
• A Letter of Attorney, if you are authorising the disposal company to take care of the paperwork.

SELLING YOUR CAR PRIVATELY

The mere act of selling your car to another person (another JET for example) is not enough to absolve you of responsibilityfor it. It will not be off your hands until the new owner registers the transfer of ownership. There are several documents necessary for the transfer registration:

 

Document	Japanese	Romaji:
ApplicationForm (OCR#2 sheet)	OCR ???	OCR Shiito
Receipt for Payment of Registration Fee	??????	Tesuuryou noufusho
Proof of Transfer of Car Ownership	?????	joutoshoumeisho
Certificate of Proof of Inkan Registration	?????	inkanshoumeisho
Certificate of Proof of Address	????????????	shoyoushanojusho wo shousuru shomen
Certificate of Proof of Parking Space	??????????	jidousha hokan basho shoumeisho
Receipt of Automobile Tax Paid	?????????	jidoushazei noufu shoumeisho shaken sho
Certificate of Vehicle Inspection	???	shakensho

The buyer may also need certain documents from you too. You will almost certainly have to Inkan some documents, so leave plenty of time to do this before you return home.

 

OBTAINING A VEHICLE TAX REFUND

If you dispose of your car before leaving Japan, you will be entitled to claim back most of the tax you paid in April/May. Once the disposal is complete, take the Certificate of Disposal to the place where you paid the original tax to claim a refund. Again, do not wait until the last minute to complete this as the process may take time.

 

USING UP NENKYU (ANNUAL PAID LEAVE)

You may find yourself with a lot of paid leave (nenkyu) remaining at the end of your contract. Provided your contracting organisation agrees, you may be able to return home early by using up your remaining nenkyu. Returning home early using this method is not non-fulfillment of contract, and would not affect the contracting organisation's obligation to provide the JET's return airfare. Prefectural ALTs may not leave Japan until after the leavers' ceremony, usually around the first week in July. If your Contracting Organisation agrees to let you leave early, you will have to make arrangements with them to have your last pay packet sent home. As with all applications for paid leave, your Contracting Organisation is well within its rights to refuse if the timing is inconvenient. Ask well ahead of time, and be prepared to negotiate.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

OBTAINING REFERENCES

Within a few months you will find yourself at home and, more than likely, looking for a new job. You will need at least one reference letter explaining what you did and how you did it here in Japan. It would be wisest to ask your supervisor or one of your English teachers (that you work with regularly) to write a letter for you. Hiring procedures and customs are different in Japan from many of our home countries. You will have to explain the purpose of a reference letter, and how they are normally written. Althoughit may seem rather unusual and a little awkward, you may want to assist them in drafting your letter. It is not very Japanese to blow your own trumpet or brag on about your own merits and accomplishments, so your supervisor may find it difficult to write the kind of letter you may be expecting. The following are things you may wish to consider when drafting your letter:

Brief description of your town/community and schools School-related duties Office duties Exam writing Extra-curricular activities Demonstration classes Elementary school visits Speech contests Participation in school/town festivals

Adult conversation classes Study groups Articles for school/local newspapers Other projects Participation in seminars, conferences Proofreading/ translation experience Progress in learning Japanese AJET/PA Roles

In addition to reference letters, you will need to update your CV (resume). How can you even attempt to sum up your whole JET experience in just a few lines? Besides all the wonderful things that you would like to be included in your reference letter, don't forget that you have probably developed some important and impressive skills while you've been here: Adaptability, Flexibility, Working as a Team, Durability, Patience, Cultural Awareness, Diplomacy and tact, Persistence, Independence, language (Japanese) proficiency. The fact that you have thrived, or simply survived, overseas says a lot about you, so be sure to mention it in your CV (resume.)

 

PRE-DEPARTURE CHECKLIST

• Pay your bills. The meters (gas, electricity sometimes water) can be read on your last day with bills paid in cash on the spot. Get your supervisor/office to call the utility company and have them send a man to your apartment.
• Don't forget NTT (dial 116, they have an English line), but don't disconnect the line unless it's yours to disconnect!
• Cancel ADSL/Dial-up/ISDN Internet connections and return any rented modems/ equipment.
• Worldlink will take your bill from your credit card, but don't forget your Ketai. Some companies charge a fee if you cancel your contract within a year.
• Pay for and cancel /have redirected newspaper subscriptions, magazines, satellite TV subscriptions.
• Rent
• You can have your mail redirected to any address in Japan for free, for one year. Ask at the Post Office.
• Before closing your bank account, consider leaving some money in your account to pay any additional bills that may arise.
• Send your possessionswell in advance of leaving (see SHIPPING)
• Make an action plan to get rid of all your garbage/rubbish in advance. You know how complicated the system is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THINGS TO LEAVE FOR YOUR SUCESSOR

• Your contact details (including full addressand phone number) in your home country.
• Annotated map of your town/ city/ village.
• Bus and train schedules, taxi numbers.
• List of emergency contact numbers, friendly local Gaijin, office and school numbers.
• Instructions on how to use the appliances.
• Detailed instructions for householdwaste, recycling, pick up points and times.
• Copies with explanations of your utility bills.
• A seating chart of your office/ teacher's room with names, job titles and responsibilities.
• Office/School work schedule in English. (break times, lessons, clubs, lunch)
• A homemade "Time Out" if you had fun eating/drinking/going out in your town.
• The JET phone list from the previous year, just in case they have to wait a while before they get a new one.

FORWARDING MAIL

There are two ways to deal with all the mail that will inevitably surface once you're gone. You can pick up a "Change of Address Notice" postcard at the post office, which is usually found on the desk with the banking forms. Fill out the form and return it to the post office. You will need you're Inkan.

Option 1: Persuade a friend who is staying in Japan (or a Japanese person(!)) to receive your mail for you. All of your domestic and international mail can be forwardedto his or her address for one year. Your friend can send the important mail to you. A new form will have to be filled out each year to continue having the mail forwarded.

Option 2: You can have your mail forwarded overseas to your post-JET residence. However, only international mail will be forwarded. Domestic mail (mail originating in Japan) will be returned to the sender. Packages forwarded to your overseas address will have pay-on-delivery charges applied.

Remember to leave your post-JET address with your office.

local Japanese tax	???	chihouzei
Bank Account	????	ginko kouza
"Please close my bank account"	???????????????	watashi no ginko kouzai wo tojite kudasai.
Change of Address Notice	?????	tenkyo todokesho
Forwarding	??	tensou
Post Office	???	yuubinkyoku

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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