A Checklist for Departing JETs

“When you’re moving, your whole world becomes boxes. That’s all you think about is boxes. Boxes, where are those boxes? You just wander down the street going in and out of stores; are there boxes here? Have you seen any boxes? You can’t even talk to people because you can’t concentrate: Shut up, I’m looking for boxes! Just after a while you become really into it; you can smell them. You walk into a store; there’s boxes here. Don’t tell me you don’t have boxes, I can SMELL them.”
–Jerry Seinfeld

I hate moving. I hate the boxes; I hate having to decide what’s important enough to spend money shipping and what’s just random crap; I hate not being able to sleep at night because I am worried about when I should ship my ties home. Seriously, there are a lot of good things to worry about in this world, and I am pretty sure neckties aren’t one of them. The After JET Guide published by CLAIR recommends that you start getting ready to leave in May. If you’re like me, though, and have left a few things (read: everything) to the last minute, here is a short list of things that may slip your mind while your dealing with the obvious stuff.

Especially for departing third-year JETs, it’s important to check your visa to make sure you plan on leaving before your period of stay runs out. If you are going to travel in Japan after your visa runs out, make sure to apply for a change in status to “Visitor” before the Immigration Bureau comes knocking on your door. The law was recently amended so that, as long as you apply before your period of stay runs out, you will be fine even if your period of stay expires while you are waiting for word on your application. Otherwise, if you overstay your period of stay by even a single day, you will be in store for some unpleasantness.
If you plan on traveling after JET, be sure to keep a copy of your JET Accident Insurance pamphlet. It will cover you until August 31 or until you arrive in your home country. You won’t be covered by the national Employees’ Health Insurance anymore, so JET Accident Insurance will be very important if you end up in the hospital. If you’ve misplaced yours, you can get an outline of coverage details and how to file a claim on the JET website.
If you’ve been paying attention to your pay slips, you will have noticed that every month you are handing a hefty chunk of money over to the Japanese Social Insurance Agency. You can and should apply to recoup this money when you leave. Before you leave, be sure to pick up the necessary forms (available at your local municipal office) and designate a tax agent (from your local tax office). For more information, see your GIH, the JET Programme website, recent CLAIR newsletters, or call your PA. Every 12 months that you paid into pension means about 280,000 yen in your pocket after you return home. Still, according to a CLAIR survey in 2006, about 16% of JETs did not apply for their pension refund. That’s just stupid.
When you leave Japan, make sure to give the immigration officer your Alien Registration Card and that he or she stamps your visa “Void.” This will later act as proof that you have given up residence in Japan and that you qualify for the pension refund. If you have a valid re-entry permit and some time left on your period of stay, the immigration officer may think you are just going home for a visit and, therefore, may not want to cancel your visa. There is no way to cancel your visa from outside Japan though, so you should insist. Saying “Kesshite nihon ni modorimasen” (“I am never coming back to Japan”) will do the trick (though it may hurt his feelings).
Don’t forget your successor. The next person to take your job is going to be nowhere near as awesome as you, so help them out by giving them as much information as you can. I have never talked to a new JET who said, “I wish my pred hadn’t given me so much information.” Send them maps, schedules, advice, and anything you wished you had known before arriving. Stick to the facts, though. Talking about your opinions regarding other teachers, other ALTs, schools, or the neighborhood isn’t going to help the new JET. Everyone is going to fit into the environment differently, and you don’t want to hamstring the new JET with preconceptions based on your subjective experiences. Let them discover on their own some of the wonderful (and not so wonderful) details of the placement.
Make sure to leave a forwarding address and phone number with your contracting organization. This is important for several reasons, not least of which is that you will need them to send you your yearly Statement of Earnings (Gensen choshu hyo) so that you can do your taxes next year.
Japan Post will not let you set up a forwarding address that is overseas. You can, however, assign a friend’s house as a forwarding address, and then have him or her send your mail to you. You should probably tell them before you do it. The forms are available at all post offices or online (Japanese only).
Get ready for that sweet taste of culture shock. I like to think of culture shock as jet lag for the mind. Except that instead of adjusting in a few days, it takes years. Same as jet lag, returning to your home culture can be as bad as leaving it. Some tips for dealing with reverse culture shock can be found in the After JET Guide. Everyone deals with this adjustment stuff differently, and after spending a year or more here, you should have a pretty good idea of what works for you.
Spend some time coming up with a really good farewell speech. Your coworkers will probably have some kind of going away party for you, and you don’t want to stand up in front of everyone after a few drinks and have only lame things to say. You want them to remember you (so they can write you a good recommendation). This is especially true if you are giving your speech in Japanese. I heard a farewell speech once along the lines of: “Thank you so much. I will treasure these memories. Thank you. Come visit me in my hometown. Thank you. Seriously, I will treasure these memories. Thank you. . . .” This went on for like four minutes. You can do better.
Leave plenty of space in your suitcases when you pack. It’s likely that you will be inundated with gifts just before you go. I have heard of JETs who had to surreptitiously regift or simply bin these gifts because they didn’t leave enough room in their suitcase and didn’t have enough time to repack. Previous JETs have suggested leaving one suitcase entirely for gifts.