Japan comes up whenever people talk about retiring in Asia, and it has no retirement visa. The nearest thing is the Designated Activities (Long Stay for sightseeing and recreation) visa. It lets well-off visitors stay far longer than the usual visa-free period, as long as the purpose is sightseeing and recreation.
Everything below is from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan’s page on the scheme, dated 17 March 2023 and read on 23 September 2026.
Six months, then up to a year
You get a stay of 6 months. Apply to the Regional Immigration Bureau of the Ministry of Justice before it ends, and the Ministry says eligible people will be granted up to 1 year.
The page does not describe it as renewable beyond that year. It is a stay for sightseeing and recreation, and nothing on the page suggests it leads to residence or settling in Japan.
Who can apply
Only nationals and citizens of Japan’s visa-waiver countries or regions. The applicant must also be:
- aged 18 or older
- holding savings equivalent to more than ¥30 million, owned by the applicant and their spouse together
A spouse can come as the accompanying spouse, living at the same address and travelling together in Japan. They need not arrive on the same day, but cannot arrive before the main applicant. A couple who want to stay under the scheme separately need more than ¥60 million between them.
Dependent children cannot come with you. Most retirees will not mind, but it rules the scheme out for a year in Japan with a teenager.
Proving the money
The Ministry asks for documents such as a bankbook showing savings of more than ¥30 million, with the current balance and the deposits and withdrawals for the past six months. Plan for the history: a balance put together the week before you apply will show as exactly that.
The threshold is set in yen. If your savings are in pounds, dollars or euros, whether they clear ¥30 million depends on the exchange rate, the same problem the currency test inside a visa sets out for pensions.
Insurance is on the application
The required documents include proof of private medical travel insurance covering death, injury and illness during the stay, for the applicant and the accompanying spouse alike. Several of the region’s retirement routes leave insurance off the application. Japan puts it on.
Check that a policy names all three, for the whole stay. SafetyWing’s Nomad Insurance Essential is travel medical insurance of the kind the list describes, and it publishes its coverage table. We have not confirmed that it names death as well as injury and illness, so read its table for those three words before relying on it. What health cover each retirement visa demands compares the rest of the region.
The documents
The main applicant needs:
- a passport
- a visa application form with a photograph
- a schedule of stay
- the savings and insurance evidence above
- if applying outside your own country, documents proving you legally reside or work in the country where you apply
An accompanying spouse needs their own passport and application form, a certificate or schedule of stay, the marriage certificate, their own insurance and, if applying separately, a copy of the main applicant’s visa.
A Certificate of Eligibility, issued by a regional immigration authority under the Immigration Services Agency, can replace the schedule of stay, the savings evidence and the insurance evidence at the visa counter. The Ministry notes that a proxy in Japan can apply for it for you, and that a certificate does not guarantee a visa will be issued.
Against the region’s retirement routes
Japan asks for more savings than most routes in this cluster and grants one of the shortest stays: more than ¥30 million for at most a year, against Thailand’s 800,000 baht for a renewable year or the Philippines’ US$15,000 for indefinite stay. It suits someone who wants one long, settled year in Japan and has the savings to show for it. If you are choosing where to live for good, start with the retirement planning sequence, which covers the routes built for that.
SafetyWing's Nomad Insurance Essential coverage table, to check against Japan's three words (affiliate link)