1. Leaving the JET ProgrammeLeaving the JET Programme 2014 Summer Conference for Returning JETs An explanation of the steps involved and how to make a smooth transition

2. Questions  Please save your questions until the end.  Make notes of questions you want to ask for later.

3. To Be Covered… 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock                 cancel power  flight home cancel phone   Last pay

4. Recommendations for when to start How do you organize your time? You have less than two months left... How do you organize your time? JUNE  Begin Pension & Tax  Home Phone  Landlord  Budget  Vehicle & Insurance  Shipping  Visa  Book a flight JULY  Cable & Internet  Utilities  Bank / Postal account  Tenshutsu todoke PRIOR TO DEPARTURE  Mobile Phone  Residence Card

5. Completes their term of appointment. Does not get new job in Japan Leaves Japan within one month Economy class One way To airport near home city/town A)JET pays, CO reimburses the cost later. B)JET requests flight through a specific travel agency, CO pays C)JET gives CO preferred departure dates, CO pays D)JET gives preferred dates, CO checks cost, gives JET money, JET buys

7. To Be Covered… Length of Stay Visa Type Change Resident Card Etc... 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock

8. Period of Stay  1 st and 2 nd year JETs are still fine (if you have a 3-year visa)  3rd year and up: check your expiration date!  3 rd year and up may need to apply for temporary visitor status  Do NOT overstay.

9. Staying a little longer  Instructor status can be changed to temporary visitor status (JR Rail Pass OK for tourists!)  Can stay in Japan 90 days after work ends on same visa without filing, if still valid for 90 days or more  If visa expires at any point before the 90 days after contract ends, you must file for temporary visitor status to begin the day after visa expires.

10. Immigration Getting a Temporary Visitor Visa Take with you: Passport Personal Stamp Residence Card Explanation for changing the Status of Residence ( zairyu shikaku henko riyusho) ¥4000 ( 収入印紙 shunyuinshi stamp) Documentation showing last day of work Other (Copy of airline ticket / proof of sufficient funds)

11. Staying in Japan to work “visa” still valid + new job as an instructor = no need to change status (may need extension) “visa” still valid + looking for a new job = you have 3 months “visa” still valid + got a completely different job = change status working outside of the bounds of the original “visa” = ILLEGAL !

12. What to do at the airport (Cancel mobile phone?) Turn in your alien registration card to the Immigration Official. (Failure to do so makes your pension process very, very difficult) Keep your passport.

13. To Be Covered… Am I insured? …but i have no health card! WAIT, I’m still in Japan! 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock

14. Health Insurance Thank about whether or not you need any additional coverage. National Health Insurance coverage: ends on the last day of your contract. JET Accident Insurance: ends the day that you arrive in your home country or until August 31 st, whichever happens first. The JET Accident Insurance policy only deals with health matters; theft and lost items are not covered.

15. Health Insurance (staying in Japan) Can use JET Accident Insurance for 1 month after contract Must pay full cost up front It may take a while to get a refund Continuing Work in Japan Not enrolling in National Health is considered ILLEGAL. JETs staying in Japan: apply through your new employer **May cost more as our COs paid ½ during JET.

16. To Be Covered…¥ RM ¢ £ €R$ रू 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock

17. Bank Stuff Note that you do not have to close your bank account. Make necessary arrangements for your bank account to avoid problems. Note that you do not have to close your bank account. Closing Out Your Account Go to the branch where you opened your account Bring: Resident Card Passbook Personal Stamp You can say: “kouza wo kaiyaku shitai no desu ga” 「口座を解約したいのですが。」 Not Reasons To Not Close Your Account You plan on being back in Japan in the future. You want to hold onto your Japanese credit card. You have remaining automatic bill payments.

18. To Be Covered… 済 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock

19. Canceling Utilities and Phone Your supervisor can help you out if needed… Electricity, Water, & Gas Keep bank account open, final automatic payment. or Call up to a month in advance, arrange date, pay on the spot. (exact meter) Have cash handy. Mobile Phone Last minute at the airport or nearby shop May incur fees. Have cash handy NTT Land Line Can be cancelled for a specific date but payment is resolved later at a local NTT office, or by proxy. (Ask supervisor) Cable & Internet Varies. Check with provider.

20. Leaving Your Apartment Standard practice in Japan is to give at least 1 month notice to your landlord before you leave. Standard practice in Japan is to give at least 1 month notice to your landlord before you leave. It is polite to personally say goodbye…if you know who your landlord is… It is polite to personally say goodbye…if you know who your landlord is… Make sure you ask about cleaning, deposits, your last day, etc. Make sure you ask about cleaning, deposits, your last day, etc. REMEMBER to clean your apartment. Leave a good impression, don’t burn bridges. REMEMBER to clean your apartment. Leave a good impression, don’t burn bridges.

21. To Be Covered… ? ? ? ! ! ! ! ! 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock

22. Successors Are excited and [theoretically] can’t wait to get to Japan. Do not attempt to contact successor until your BOE gives you the go ahead. Provide necessary and helpful information. Answer their questions. Give mostly facts, less opinions. Your successor is not an avenue to vent, but give information you see as necessary. Set your bounds and their expectations.

23. Guidelines for Selling (to your successor or other people) Deal in Japanese currency. Be realistic about prices (how much would someone IN JAPAN pay?) Make a list with photos. Be respectful/honest There’s always HARD OFF or other stores that may buy your used stuff

24. To Be Covered… Mwahaha! Take that, Japan Pension Services! 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock

25. How much money do I get back? Every month, we pay in to the employees’ pension insurance program. These are the refund figures which correspond to the period of time you have worked as a JET. These figures are derived from a \280,000 or ¥300,000 monthly salary in accordance with each year worked on The JET Programme. 1 st Year JETs\280,000 2 nd Year JETs\580,000 3 rd Year JETs\900,000 4 th Year JETs\900,000 5 th Year JETs\900,000

26. How Refund Amount is Calculated

27. Same thing in simple English: Basically, you get back roughly one month’s salary for every year you worked in Japan, up to 3 years. Warning: You must file within 2 years after leaving Japan!

28. Steps to claim lump-sum withdrawal (to be done in Japan) Get blue pension book from your BOE. 1. Get blue pension book from your BOE. [nenkin techou] Choose a tax rep. 2. Choose a tax rep. Anyone in Japan is OK. Get form: "Declaration Naming a Person to Administer the Taxpayer's Tax Affairs" ( 納税管理人の 届出書 [nōzei kanrinin no todokesho ]) from local tax office (either a Social Insurance Office or the tax section of your local government office). Fill it in with tax rep and bring it back to tax office. (Can be done from overseas but easier while in Japan.)

29. Apply for a "notification of moving-out 3. Apply for a "notification of moving-out ( 転出届 [tenshutsu todoke])" Do it just before you leave Japan (2 weeks) Submit to municipal office where registered in "Resident Registration“. Can be done from abroad but is easier in Japan. Turn in your Residence Card at the airport 4. Turn in your Residence Card at the airport (if you still have an Alien Registration Card it might be invalidated with a punch and you may take it home). Steps to claim lump-sum withdrawal (to be done in Japan)

30. Things to send from abroad (to be done from home country) lump-sum withdrawal form Fill out lump-sum withdrawal form. (*note: only need to fill in the basic pension number from blue book. Other numbers blank.) Pension Book Pension Book (The book will be returned to you at a later date.) photocopy of your passport A photocopy of your passport (page(s) showing your name, date of birth, nationality, signature, work visa, and the date of departure from Japan) document verifying your bank A document (copy of your bank statement, bank passbook, etc.) verifying your bank name, branch office name, branch address, bank account number, and the full name of the account holder (must be your own). Used in place of bank stamp. Send both if possible.

31.  Notice of lump-sum withdrawal payment (and cash deposit) should arrive in 3-6 months.  You also get your blue pension book back.  You may get a letter back instead, asking if you want your money back even after properly filing. Please reply saying “yes” and wait a bit longer.  Process time varies. Don’t rely on this money coming soon. Some notes

32. Congrats! You got 80% of your money! (What about the other 20%!?!) 1. Mail the original notice of lump-sum withdrawal payment to your tax rep (keep a copy) with your pension book and have him/her fill out and submit a tax return payment confirmation ( 確定申告書 kakutei shinkoku-sho) for you. (Tax rep gets it from tax office.) 2. Have your tax rep deposit the tax return into their own account (must be a Japanese account.) 3. Have tax rep send the money to you however is best for the both of you.

34. Summary of Steps

35. To Be Covered… 1.Timeline for Pre- departure 2.Immigration 3.Health Insurance 4.Banking 5.Utilities & Phone 6.Successors and Leaving Workplace 7.Pension 8.Reverse Culture Shock

36.  What is it? “ Culture shock is the expected confrontation with the unfamiliar; re- entry shock is the unexpected confrontation with the familiar.” –R. Michael Paige, “Maximizing Study Abroad”  Will it get me?  2010 JET Survey says 65.7% of JETs experienced reverse culture shock/re-entry shock

38.  No one wants to listen  You can't explain  Relationships have changed  People misunderstand  Feeling alienated/seeing with “critical” eyes  Reverse "homesickness"  Inability to apply new knowledge and skills  Loss/compartmentalization of experience

39.  Realize most of these issues are temporary  Be patient, give yourself time  Compare to how you dealt with initial culture shock in Japan  Try to simply enjoy life!  Let a little bit out at a time  Don’t stop learning new things  Rely on support networks / friends / family

40. www.jetalumni.org 52 regional chapters, 17 countries, 25,000 members  Free to join  Variety of events every month  Local Japan related resource information (Arts&Crafts, Culture, Attractions, Food, etc)  Great way to meet other former JETs

41. お疲れ様でした！ Best of luck with whatever the future brings!