The death of a family’s primary income earner can have a profound impact on the surviving members, particularly in Japan where the cost of living is high and the social insurance systems are unique. The loss can leave a family grappling with immediate financial pressures and long-term economic uncertainty. Many young families fail to plan for these possibilities, leaving their families in a financially precarious situation should the worst come to pass. Fortunately, there are affordable life insurance options that can secure your family’s financial security for the most critical years of their lives.
The Cost Of Living In Tokyo
Estate planning is not just about allocating assets after death; it’s also about managing and protecting assets during your lifetime. For families in high-cost areas like Tokyo, understanding and planning for the cost of living ensures that your current lifestyle can be maintained and financial goals can be met without compromising future security for your family when you’re gone. 
Cost of living includes more than your housing expenses. Accurately calculating your cost of living requires taking into account any factors that impact your day-to-day and month-to-month expenditures. These factors include:
- Housing & Utilities: In Tokyo, housing is a major expense, with one-bedroom apartments in the city center averaging from around ¥135,000 to ¥165,000, and three-bedroom apartments around ¥293,000 to ¥358,000. Choosing a home outside the city center can offer savings. These housing decisions are crucial in estate planning as they affect long-term financial commitments and investments.
Utility costs (around ¥19,950 to ¥24,370 monthly for smaller apartments) and internet (¥4,560 to ¥5,558, monthly) also play into budgeting and financial planning for the future.
- Food and Dining: While Tokyo offers affordable dining options, such as supermarket bento boxes and various noodle restaurants, a family’s food expenses can still be significant. Monthly groceries, including staples like milk, eggs, and beef, can amount to hundreds of thousands of yen. These regular expenses need to be factored into a family’s life insurance plan, ensuring that daily needs don’t compromise long-term savings.
- Leisure and Entertainment: Tokyo’s diverse entertainment options, from movies (¥1,920 to ¥2,351 per ticket) to amusement parks, add to a family’s quality of life but also to their expenses. Life insurance planning must balance these immediate joys with the need for financial security and savings for future goals.
- Transportation: Public transportation costs, starting at around ¥180 per trip, and other travel expenses are vital components of a family’s monthly budget. For families who travel frequently, these costs can impact long-term financial planning.
- Healthcare: Japan has a very affordable universal healthcare system. However, basic Japanese insurance may not cover extensive treatments or other costs required for critical illness or disability. Your healthcare plan should factor in these costs, or insurance supplementation such as critical illness or disability insurance.
Of course, this is just a starting point. Your individual circumstances may dictate additional expenses that need to be considered. Furthermore, for cost of living purposes, you also need to take inflation rates into account. And these expenses don’t include the added costs of raising children and paying for their education.
The Cost of Raising Children in Tokyo
Raising a child in Tokyo, Japan, is a significant financial undertaking, with costs ranging from ¥29 million to ¥63 million from birth to college graduation. The first year, in particular, involves significant one-off costs such as setting up a nursery, buying a stroller, and other baby essentials. In addition, there are the basic costs such as food and pocket money, as well as loss of income should one parent become a caregiver. However, in the case of a parent’s early death, these costs increase significantly as the breadwinner’s income is no longer available. 
Once children reach schooling age, the costs only increase. International families in Japan often face higher education costs than local families, as many prefer international schools. For instance, parents sending a child to schools in Tokyo can expect to pay around ¥2,400 to ¥114,000 in application fees, ¥185000 for kindergarten, ¥2,533,000 for elementary school, and 4,341,000 yen for junior and senior high schools.
Moreover, many children of foreign residents in Japan decide to study abroad, and the expenses can be substantial. For example, studying in the United States can cost an average of $25,707 annually at a public university, $43,421 annually at an out-of-state university, and $54,501 annually at a private, non-profit university.
Higher education in Japan is also costly, with yearly expenses of ¥820,000 at national institutions, ¥930,000 at local public institutions, and ¥1,100,000 at private institutions. These costs underline the importance of early financial planning for your child’s education.
Establishing an estate plan that will guarantee support for your family requires taking into account all of these expenses. Because the costs change over time, this also means considering how your family’s financial needs will evolve from one stage of life to the next. These estimations, combined with your family’s estimated cost of living, will help you understand how much you need to have available for your loved ones in case you die unexpectedly. However, there is another hidden expense that you must not overlook…
Japanese Inheritance Law: The Cost of Death In Japan
The costs of death can be significant and can have a profound impact on the deceased’s children and other heirs, particularly in countries like Japan where family members may inherit the debts of their family members. This can have significant implications for estate planning, as individuals must consider not only the distribution of their assets but also the potential burden of their debts on their heirs. 
In Japan, when a person dies, their debts do not automatically get canceled. Instead, these debts can be inherited by the deceased person’s heirs, who then become legally responsible for repaying them. This includes statutory heirs (spouse, children, parents, siblings) and designated heirs (named in the will). The estate’s debts, which can include outstanding loans and mortgages, are deducted from the assets of the estate.
If the estate’s assets are insufficient to cover the debts, the heirs who have accepted the inheritance are responsible for repaying the remaining amount. This means they may have to use their own personal funds to settle the remaining debts. In the fiscal year of 2022, outstanding home loans in Japan amounted to ¥216 trillion. This suggests that a significant number of homeowners in Japan could potentially leave behind substantial mortgage debts upon their death.
In addition to the potential burden of inherited debts, heirs in Japan must also contend with the country’s inheritance tax. Japan has one of the highest inheritance tax rates globally, with the tax rate starting at 10% and going as high as 55%. There is a basic exemption of ¥30 million, plus ¥6 million for each statutory heir in Japan. All amounts above that are subject to marginal inheritance tax rates.
Why Life Insurance Is A Must For Estate Planning In Japan
As you can see, the death of a loved one in Japan not only brings emotional turmoil but can also have significant financial implications. The loss can leave a family grappling with immediate financial pressures and long-term economic uncertainty. This financial burden can be particularly challenging for the surviving spouse, who may need to become the new income earner while also caring for children.
Given that the surviving spouse may face the challenge of balancing work and childcare, Japan offers childcare leave benefits, but these are often limited in duration and may not fully compensate for the loss of income. As children grow, education expenses become a significant concern. The cost of university education can be substantial, and without the primary earner’s income, children may need to rely on loans or scholarships to continue their education.
The surviving spouse’s ability to retire comfortably can be jeopardized by the loss of the primary income. While Japan does provide survivor benefits, these are typically adjusted based on changes in prices and wages and may not be sufficient to cover all living expenses. Older single women, in particular, face a growing risk of poverty in Japan, often relying on survivor’s pensions that may be lower than welfare recipients.
Term Life Insurance: An Affordable Solution For Foreign Residents In Japan
Term life insurance emerges as a clear solution to these challenges. It provides coverage for a specific period, aligning with the family’s financial obligations. For example, a 30-year term life insurance policy can match the term of a mortgage, ensuring that if the insured passes away within that period, the death benefit can be used to pay off the mortgage, relieving the family from the financial burden.
Decreasing term life insurance is another option, where the death benefit decreases over time, matching the decreasing liability of a loan or mortgage. This type of policy can be more affordable, reflecting the reduced risk to the insurer as the potential payout diminishes. Families can tailor the term length of the policy to match specific liabilities, such as the period until children become financially independent or the duration of a mortgage. This strategic approach ensures that the family has adequate coverage during critical periods while optimizing insurance costs.
Seeking Professional Financial Advice
The death of the income earner in Japan can place significant financial strain on the surviving family members. Inheriting debts, covering living expenses, and planning for retirement and education are all pressing concerns. International life insurance offers a flexible and cost-effective way to safeguard your family’s financial future; however, making sure you have the right amount of life insurance for the correct term of coverage can be difficult. Many people treat life insurance as separate from financial planning and budgeting, which can lead to costly mistakes.
For instance, having life insurance without a will can cost your family time and money, potentially leading to years in court to determine ownership. A financial adviser can help you avoid such pitfalls, ensuring that your family’s financial investments are well-protected, giving both you and them invaluable peace of mind- no matter what life throws at you.
