Japan Tax Residence and Foreign Income

Domicile or one year of residence

A resident has a domicile in Japan or has continuously maintained a residence there for at least one year. Domicile means the objective centre of living, so residence can arise before a year has passed.

A specific foreign-national category

Non-permanent tax residence applies only to residents without Japanese nationality whose total Japanese domicile or residence was at most five years within the preceding ten years. It is an income-tax category, not an immigration permit.

Ordinary residents and worldwide income

Residents outside that non-permanent category are taxed on income arising both in and outside Japan. A Japanese national cannot use the foreign-national non-permanent category simply by recently returning.

Non-permanent residents and foreign income

Their taxable scope includes income other than statutory foreign-source income, plus foreign-source income paid in Japan or remitted there. This is not a blanket exemption for overseas earnings; source and remittance rules need individual analysis.

Non-resident and treaty scope

Non-residents are taxed on Japanese-source income. Applicable treaties can affect residence and taxing rights; the NTA describes treaty residence tie-breakers separately from the domestic test.