How much is left from this job?
Enter the hourly wage and see the take-home pay after insurance, pension, rent and taxes.
Pension: take it back or add it up?
Estimate the Japanese pension refund and understand what you lose with INSS (Brazil's social security).
Short on money in Japan
The official interest-free emergency loan, before you turn to a loan shark.
Furusato nōzei
Get local products for only ¥2,000 out of pocket. This year's deadline: Dec 31.
First 30 days
Checklist for newcomers: city hall, insurance, bank, phone and driver's license.
Before signing with a staffing agency
Questions to ask before you sign and how to check the agency's license.
Ready-made note for school
Pick the situation in English and copy a polite note in Japanese for the teacher.
Don't let it expire
Reminders for your visa, license, shaken inspection and passport in your calendar.
Japanese résumé Coming soon
Fill it in your language and get a ready rirekisho.
Which visa path? Coming soon
A quiz that shows the possible paths and the official sources.
問
Conversion exam practice test
Knowledge test of the gaimen kirikae (外免切替): 50 true-or-false questions, 30 minutes, pass with 45 correct answers (90%).
Full exam
50 true-or-false questions, like the conversion exam. You can go back, change answers and use the map to find the ones left blank. At the end, see your result and the explanation for each question.
Practice mode
One question at a time, with the answer and explanation right after. Choose a topic if you like.
Tips to avoid mistakes caused by wording
- Absolute words like "always", "never" and "all" often hide an exception. Read carefully.
- Phrases like "as a rule" and "unless" change the answer. Look for the exception.
- Many mistakes come from numbers: 3 m, 5 m, 10 m, 30 m, 3 seconds. Practice the "Stopping and parking" topic.
- Watch out for rules that apply in Brazil but not in Japan, such as turning on red.
Converting a Brazilian license in Japan
The Brazilian International Driving Permit (PID) is not valid in Japan: Japan only accepts permits under the Geneva Convention, and Brazil is not a party to it. To drive, you need to convert your CNH (Brazilian license).
What the test looks like now
Right after the change, the knowledge test pass rate fell from 93% to 38% in Shizuoka. In Mie, the driving test began passing only 1.7%.
Documents (usual list)
- Valid Brazilian CNH
- Japanese translation of the CNH (JAF or consulate)
- Current and old passports, to prove you stayed 3 months or more in Brazil after getting the CNH
- Zairyu card (residence card)
- Juminhyo showing nationality, visa type and expiry
- Recent 3×2.4 cm photo
- CNH record (issuance history), requested in some prefectures
Each prefecture may ask for something extra. Check before booking.
Step by step
- Get the CNH translatedThrough JAF (online) or the Brazilian consulate.
- Book the document checkMost prefectures book online. In Kanagawa it is by phone or at the counter.
- Document check and eye testOften done in Japanese. If you don't speak Japanese, bring an interpreter.
- Knowledge test50 questions. Practice with the practice test.
- Driving testSame standard required of Japanese drivers. A lesson at a driving school beforehand helps a lot.
- License pickupPay the issuance fee and leave with your Japanese license.
Prefecture by prefecture
Information from the official websites. "Status" column: checked when the page is newer than the change, confirm when the data is old or was read from a table.
| Prefecture | Booking | Test in Portuguese | Fees cited | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aichi | Online (police system), weekdays. Interpreter required if you don't speak Japanese. | Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1:30 pm (notice of Oct 27, 2025) | ¥3,350 exam + ¥2,050 issuance (2024 data) | confirm |
| Kanagawa | Counter 12 (weekdays, 2–3 pm) or tel. 045-365-6000 (weekdays, 3–4 pm) | Yes, 21 languages | Confirm when booking | checked |
| Gifu | By phone, 058-237-5719 (weekdays, 9 am–5 pm), with a Japanese speaker, only once all documents are ready | Confirm by phone | ¥3,300 exam (standard) + ¥2,350 issuance | checked |
| Gunma | Online, on the police website | Confirm | ¥4,850 total (standard) | confirm |
| Ibaraki | Online, mandatory since Dec 1, 2025 | Yes, 20 languages | — | checked |
| Shimane | Online; opens on the 1st of the previous month and closes at 3 pm the day before | Confirm | ¥2,500 exam (standard) | checked |
| Shizuoka | See official page | Confirm | — | PT PDF outdated |
How much is left from this job?
The ad shows the hourly wage. Here you see what stays in your pocket after mandatory deductions, rent and expenses.
How the calculation works
The percentages are the employee's share in 2026: pension (kōsei nenkin) 9.15%; health insurance 4.95% (Kyōkai Kenpo average, varies by prefecture); long-term care insurance 0.81% from age 40 to 64; employment insurance 0.5%; child support contribution 0.115% (since April 2026).
Income tax is an annual estimate, using the employment income deduction and the basic deduction, divided by 12. Resident tax (jūminzei) is estimated at 10% of last year's taxable income plus ¥5,000 per year. It is only charged to people who lived in Japan on January 1.
The calculation does not include dependents, bonuses or special deductions. In practice, insurance is calculated by brackets (hyōjun hōshū) and may differ slightly. Use it as a reference to compare jobs.
Japanese pension: take it back or add it up?
When you leave Japan you can ask for part of your pension contributions back (脱退一時金, dattai ichijikin). But once you receive it, that period no longer counts toward your retirement.
Take it back
- You need 6 months or more of contributions and must not qualify for a Japanese pension.
- At most 60 months (5 years) count.
- You must apply within 2 years after you no longer have an address in Japan.
- 20.42% is withheld as tax. Part of it can come back if you file through a tax representative (nōzei kanrinin).
Add it up for retirement
- Under the Brazil–Japan Social Security Agreement (since 2012), time paid in Japan can count toward INSS retirement, and time in Brazil toward the Japanese pension.
- People who plan to return to Japan or already have many years of contributions usually gain more by adding it up.
- After receiving the refund, your time in Japan is reset to zero and no longer counts.
Short on money in Japan: before you borrow
In Brazilian groups you always see "I arrived with little money, can anyone lend me some?". Before looking for a loan shark, learn the official options.
1. Interest-free emergency loan (緊急小口資金)
Offered by your city's Social Welfare Council (社会福祉協議会, shakyō) to low-income households facing an unexpected expense, such as an illness.
In Aichi, foreigners can apply if they hold permanent resident, spouse of a Japanese national or permanent resident, long-term resident (teijūsha) or spouse/child of teijūsha status, and have lived at the same address for 6 months or more. Many people of Japanese descent qualify. Rules may vary by prefecture.
Ready phrase for the phone call
緊急小口資金について相談したいです。 ポルトガル語の通訳はいますか。
"I'd like information about the emergency loan. Do you have a Portuguese interpreter?"
2. Other options
- Salary advance: ask your staffing agency if it can advance part of the salary you have already earned.
- Life support counter (自立相談支援機関): city hall offers help for people facing hardship. They advise on rent assistance and other support.
- City international association (国際交流協会): often has service in Portuguese and refers you to the right place.
3. Signs of a loan shark or scam
- Asks for a deposit before releasing the money.
- Talks only through LINE or WhatsApp, with no company address.
- Asks to "borrow" your bank account, card or phone. Selling or lending your account is a crime in Japan.
- Interest above the legal limit: 20% a year under ¥100,000, 18% up to ¥1 million, 15% above that.
Furusato nōzei explained
You donate to a Japanese city, receive a product as a thank-you gift (rice, meat, fruit) and the donation comes back as a tax deduction. Only ¥2,000 a year comes out of your pocket.
Who can use it
- Anyone who pays resident tax (jūminzei) and income tax in Japan, foreigners included.
- There is a donation limit that depends on your income and family. Above the limit, the extra amount does not come back.
- People who don't pay jūminzei yet (first year in Japan) have no deduction to receive.
How to do it
- Find your limitUse a portal's simulator with the figure from your gensen chōshūhyō (annual income statement).
- Choose and donateThrough the furusato nōzei portals, by Dec 31 to count for this year.
- Claim the deductionWith up to 5 cities a year and no tax return to file, send the ワンストップ特例 (one-stop) form by Jan 10. Otherwise, file a tax return (kakutei shinkoku).
日
First 30 days in Japan
Tick what you've done. The list is saved on this device.
Emergency numbers
Driver's license
The Brazilian PID is not valid in Japan. To drive, convert your CNH. See the guide and practice with the practice test.
Before signing with a staffing agency
Ask these questions and get the answers in writing. A serious agency answers without problems.
Ready-made note for school
Pick the situation in English. The note comes out in polite Japanese, ready for the contact notebook (連絡帳) or the school app.
Note
Enrolling in a public school
- Foreign children can attend Japanese public schools (elementary and junior high) with no tuition or textbook fees. School lunch and trips are paid.
- After registering your address at city hall, go to the education department (教育委員会, kyōiku iinkai) to request enrollment.
- Ask whether the school offers Japanese classes for foreigners (日本語指導) and a Portuguese interpreter.
Don't let it expire
Enter the expiry dates and add the reminders to your calendar (Google Calendar, which also works on iPhone). Nothing is sent to or stored by us.
Support the project
All tools are free and will stay free. If one helped you, a voluntary contribution helps keep the questions and guides up to date.
PIX (from Brazil)
alexandre.dirck@gmail.com
About
Burajiru-jin is an independent project by a Brazilian IT professional preparing to live in Japan. It is not a government or driving school website.
Every piece of information has its official source next to it. Rules change: always check the website of the police, city hall or responsible agency before deciding.
Found a mistake, or did a rule change in your prefecture? Let us know so we can fix it.