Moving your savings from the US to Japan: wire vs Wise vs just leaving it

The short version. For small, recurring amounts (under ~$5,000), a service like Wise wins on cost — it uses the mid-market rate and charges roughly $5 on a $1,000 transfer. For large one-time moves ($100k+), a SWIFT wire to a Japanese bank — ideally one that accepts a USD deposit so you convert on the Japan side — usually beats it, because at that size the FX spread matters far more than the flat fee. And the option almost nobody weighs: leave it in the US. If you’re a non-permanent resident, remitting money to Japan in a year you also have US income can drag that US income into the Japanese tax net. Move only what you need.

I’ll say up front: this is my own research plus what I learned moving money across the Pacific myself, not tax or investment advice. Confirm every fee and every tax point against your own bank and a professional.

First, the mistake that made me care about this

The first time I moved a large sum between the two countries I was going the other way — sending about ¥3,000,000 from Japan to my US account to buy two cars right after we landed. I didn’t understand the fee structure, and I lost roughly ¥45,000 to fees and a rate I never questioned. That’s a real number, and it’s why I’m allergic to “just send it and see what arrives.”

The lesson holds in both directions: the headline transfer fee is rarely where the money leaks. The leaks are the FX spread and the deductions you can’t see until the money lands.

The three real options

There are only three things you can actually do with US savings when you move to Japan.

Option	Best for	The hidden cost to watch
Wise (money-transfer service)	Small–mid, recurring (under ~$50k)	You usually can’t fund it from a brokerage directly
SWIFT bank wire	Large one-time moves ($100k+)	FX markup + intermediary bank deductions
Leave it in the US	Non-permanent residents; investment assets	Tax and PFIC exposure if you do move it later

Wise: cheap, transparent, but funded from a bank — not a brokerage

Wise’s appeal is that it uses the mid-market rate (the “real” interbank rate you see on Google) and charges the fee separately and visibly. On a $1,000 USD→JPY transfer that’s around $4.96 — roughly 0.5% all-in for small amounts, with the currency-conversion component cited at about 0.85%. Verify the live number at wise.com/us/pricing before you rely on it; Wise changes its fee tiers.

Limits are no longer the problem they once were. Wise holds a Type 1 Funds Transfer license in Japan (granted in 2024), and for an account registered in Japan you can now send up to ¥150,000,000 per transaction — around $1M. The old ¥1M-per-transfer cap is gone.

The trap most people hit: you cannot pull money straight out of Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard into Wise. Brokerages only ACH to and from a linked US bank account. So the real workflow is:

brokerage → US checking account (ACH) → Wise transfer to Japan.

If you skip that mental step, you’ll sit there wondering why your brokerage won’t “see” Wise as a destination. It never will. Budget an extra 1–3 business days for the ACH leg. If you’re keeping that brokerage running from Japan, the address side of it matters too — I go into that in keeping a US brokerage when moving to Japan.

Bank wire: where large moves live — and where the money quietly disappears

A traditional SWIFT wire has a flat outgoing fee (personal accounts commonly run in the $25–$50 range — verify with your bank; don’t treat any specific number as fixed). On a small transfer that flat fee is brutal as a percentage. On a $200,000 transfer it’s a rounding error.

At large amounts the real cost is the FX markup. US banks typically add a 2–4% spread over the mid-market rate when they convert USD to JPY. Do the math: on a $50,000 transfer, a 3% markup is about $1,500 gone — versus roughly $250 of all-in cost through a mid-market service. That single spread dwarfs any wire fee.

Two more deductions people don’t see coming:

• Intermediary/correspondent banks. US→Japan wires often hop through one or more correspondent banks, and each can shave $10–$40 off the principal before it lands. You often can’t predict or control this.
• Receiving-bank fee. Your Japanese bank may charge an incoming-wire handling fee (order of magnitude ¥1,500–¥4,000 — again, verify with your Japanese bank).

What changes the math for large sums: some Japanese banks (Sony Bank, SBI Shinsei, among others) offer USD-denominated deposit accounts. Wire your dollars in, let them sit in USD, and convert to yen later at a moment you choose. This decouples the transfer from the conversion — which is exactly what you want when the exchange rate, not the fee, is your biggest cost. I’ve watched the rate closely enough to know I can’t time it perfectly; when I finally converted a large yen position I did it in one shot at about 145, scared but certain that holding idle cash was its own risk. A USD deposit account at least lets you make that call on your own schedule instead of the wire’s.

”Leave it in the US” — the option nobody puts on the table

This is the most underrated choice, and often the right one.

• USD kept in a US high-yield savings account or money-market fund keeps earning US interest rates.
• Keeping money in US accounts does not create FBAR or Form 8938 obligations — those are for foreign (to the US) accounts, i.e. your Japanese ones.
• You can often spend USD directly in Japan via a US credit card with no foreign-transaction fee, sidestepping conversion entirely for daily life — more on that in spending USD in Japan during a weak yen.
• It preserves liquidity for return trips, US tax bills, and eventual repatriation without a reverse transfer.

The one thing to plan for: don’t get locked out. US banks freeze accounts they think have gone “foreign.” I wrote up how to avoid that in locked out of your US bank from abroad.

The tax flag that can cost more than any fee: non-permanent residents

This is the part I’d tattoo on a new arrival’s arm.

If you’ve lived in Japan 5 years or less within the last 10, you’re likely a non-permanent resident (非永住者) — which covers most newly arrived expats. As of my research, non-permanent residents are taxed on Japan-source income in full, but on foreign-source income only to the extent it’s paid in or remitted to Japan in that tax year.

Read that again. If you remit savings from the US to Japan in a year you also have US dividends, capital gains, or rental income, that foreign income can become taxable in Japan — even if the cash you moved was principal, not income. There’s an ordering rule that attributes remittances to income first (needs verification with a Japan tax professional). The practical upshot: time and size your remittances, and ideally run them past a Japan tax professional. Leaving money in the US and remitting only what you need is a recognized, legitimate planning technique — not a loophole.

Your first year is where this bites hardest; I collected the moving pieces in your first tax year after leaving the US.

Decision framework

Your situation	Do this
Under ~$5,000, recurring living costs	Wise. Fund from your US bank, not the brokerage directly.
$5,000–$50,000, one-time	Wise or wire — compare the FX markup, not just the fee.
$100,000+, one-time	Wire to a JPY or USD account at a Japanese bank; ask about the FX rate, watch intermediary deductions, convert on your schedule.
Ongoing investments	Leave them in the US brokerage. Moving into Japan-side funds risks PFIC pain — see PFIC and Japanese funds for US persons.
Non-permanent resident with US income this year	Leave it in the US. Remit the minimum. A remittance can trigger Japanese tax on your foreign income.

FAQ

What’s the actual cheapest way to send money from the US to Japan?

For small-to-mid amounts, a mid-market service like Wise — roughly 0.5% all-in on small transfers. For very large amounts, a bank wire can be cheaper because the flat fee dilutes, but only if the bank’s FX spread is competitive; a 3% markup on $50,000 (~$1,500) erases any fee advantage. Compare the total landed yen, not the sticker fee.

Can I transfer directly from my Fidelity/Schwab account to Japan?

No. US brokerages only move money to and from a linked US bank account via ACH. You have to pull to your US checking account first, then send from there. Plan an extra 1–3 business days for that leg.

Is it a problem to just leave my savings in the US?

Often it’s the smartest choice. US-held accounts don’t create FBAR/8938 obligations, they keep earning US rates, and — critically for non-permanent residents — not remitting avoids pulling your US income into the Japanese tax net. The main risk is your US bank freezing an account it flags as foreign, which is manageable with the right setup. This isn’t tax advice — confirm your residency status and remittance timing with a professional.