Japan PR New Criteria Calculator

About this calculator

In late July 2026, major Japanese newspapers reported that the Immigration Services Agency is preparing stricter permanent-residency guidelines. The draft would add clearer financial tests: income above the average for Japanese households, and projected pension benefits comparable to 30 years of Employees' Pension enrollment at that income level, with assets allowed to cover a shortfall.

This calculator turns those reported ideas into numbers you can adjust. It is designed for expats who want a transparent, assumption-heavy estimate—not a black-box “approval score.”

Because the official text is not final, every result is labeled as a draft estimate. Defaults for the household-average statistic, basic-pension interpretation, and asset conversion years are documented and editable in Advanced assumptions.

For residence periods, language ability, school enrollment of children, tax and insurance payment history, and good-conduct screening, use the checklist and official sources—those pillars are outside the math engine.

YenWise builds each tool for expats who need numbers they can explain to an employer, a tax accountant, or themselves. We document official sources, show intermediate steps where it matters, and flag every simplification. Use the calculator as a planning layer on top of primary documents (源泉徴収票, ねんきん定期便, brokerage statements), not as a substitute for them.

Who should use it

People on work or family statuses who are planning a permanent-residency application under the general route, or who want to stress-test income and pension careers against the reported draft.

It is especially useful if you have a nenkin teikibin (pension coverage notice) and want to replace estimated past accrual with the notice figure.

If you are comparing job offers, planning a move within Japan, or preparing for year-end tax adjustment (年末調整) or final return (確定申告), run two or three scenarios side by side and save or screenshot the results for your records.

• •Employees enrolled in Kosei Nenkin comparing career length vs income
• •Applicants worried about the reported ¥5.75M-class household average benchmark
• •Anyone modeling whether savings could offset a projected pension gap
• •Anyone cross-checking payslips, pension notices, or brokerage statements against official rules

How the estimate works

Gate 1 compares your gross annual income X to a selectable government survey average H (default: MHLW Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions, all-household average ¥5,752,000 for 2024 income).

Gate 2 builds a 30-year Employees' Pension benchmark B at income H, then projects your annual pension P from past enrollment, optional teikibin data, and future work until your chosen end age.

If P is below B, the annual shortfall S is multiplied by Y_cap to estimate assets that might cover the gap—an author assumption, not a published ISA formula.

Tables A and B invert the pension math to show minimum incomes for different career lengths and arrival ages, matching the educational layout of leading unofficial simulators.

After you change an input, results update in the browser only — nothing is uploaded. Shareable URL parameters (where enabled) encode your scenario so you can reopen the same numbers later or send them to a spouse or accountant without creating an account.

Methodology & review

This tool estimates July 2026 media-reported permanent-residency draft financial gates only: income vs a selectable household-average benchmark H, and projected pension vs a 30-year Employees’ Pension-style benchmark B, with an assumed asset conversion for shortfalls. It is not the official ISA guideline and not an HSP points calculator. See the algorithm notes and disclaimer on the page.

Each tool is reviewed when underlying rules change (for example Reiwa-year tax reforms, NISA contribution caps, or pension premium tables) and whenever we expand the long-form explanation. The “Last reviewed” date on the page is the date of the latest substantive content or formula review.

We distinguish three kinds of numbers: (1) exact under the stated statute, (2) statutory estimates with known caps, and (3) planning assumptions you control. Assumptions such as expected investment return or remaining working years are never hidden inside a black box.

• •Primary sources linked in the Sources section below
• •Browser-side calculation — inputs stay on your device
• •Editorial review date shown in the byline above the tool

Limitations

No wage curve, indexation, dependent pension add-ons, or social-security totalization treaties are modeled. Standard remuneration grades are treated as continuous.

We cannot know which household-income statistic ISA will adopt, how many years of “continuous” income are required, or how assets will be valued.

This is not legal advice and is not affiliated with the Immigration Services Agency or any other government body.

Local city-tax nuances, special deductions (medical, housing loan credit details, foreign tax credits), and employer-specific social insurance rates can differ from simplified models. When your situation is complex, take the YenWise breakdown to a zeirishi or FP and adjust inputs using your actual forms.

Practical tips

Use the tool as a planning dashboard while you gather documents and wait for the final guideline.

• •Pull your latest ねんきん定期便 and try the optional earnings-related field.
• •Stress-test both P1 and P2 basic-pension modes and more than one H statistic.
• •Keep tax, health insurance, and pension payments current—draft rules do not replace good-conduct checks.
• •If you are on a spouse route, note the reported extension to 5 years of marriage and 3 years of residence.
• •Read our companion blog post and the current ISA permanent-residency guideline page for non-financial requirements.
• •Bookmark the page with your scenario filled in, and re-run after any salary change, bonus, or rule update so your plan stays current.