A comfortable retirement works out cheaper in Vietnam — around £1,700/month for a couple, versus £2,500 in Japan (about 32% more).
Cost of living, side by side
| Japan | Vietnam | |
|---|---|---|
| Modest (couple/mo) | £1,650 | £1,100 |
| Comfortable (couple/mo) | £2,500 | £1,700 |
| Premium (couple/mo) | £3,900 | £2,900 |
Indicative monthly estimates for a couple — real costs vary by location, lifestyle and exchange rates.
Japan: Foreigners have the same rights as Japanese nationals and can buy land, houses and apartments freehold, with no residency or visa requirement. From April 2026 buyers must disclose nationality at registration (a record-keeping step, not a restriction), and a small number of plots near defence sites can be reviewed.
Vietnam: Foreigners can own apartments (with ownership-term limits); land itself remains state-owned.
Japan: Japan has no dedicated retirement visa. Self-funded retirees typically use a long-term 'Designated Activities' stay, broadly needing substantial savings (around ¥30 million) or steady pension income of roughly ¥250,000 a month; spouse and family routes are also common.
Vietnam: Longer-stay options are more limited than elsewhere in Asia — check current routes carefully.
Japan: Healthcare is excellent and universal — residents on a long-stay visa enrol in National Health Insurance, paying income-based premiums and then about 30% of costs (less for the elderly), with high-quality hospitals nationwide. Care is affordable by Western standards, though English can be limited outside the major cities.
Vietnam: Major cities have good international hospitals (FV Hospital in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vinmec network) with English-speaking, often Western-trained staff at a fraction of Western prices; many expats keep international insurance (roughly £70-450 a month by age and cover) and may travel abroad for complex care.
Japan: For your first five years as a Japanese tax resident you count as a 'non-permanent resident', so foreign income such as a UK pension is taxed only to the extent you remit it into Japan; after five years Japan taxes your worldwide income. Rates are progressive (national 5-45%, plus a flat ~10% local inhabitant tax), and the UK-Japan treaty helps avoid double taxation.
Vietnam: Vietnamese tax residents (183+ days or a permanent home) are taxed on worldwide income on a progressive scale up to 35%, with relief under the UK-Vietnam double-tax treaty; there is no dedicated retirement visa, so residency and pension taxation both need professional advice.
Japan: Four distinct seasons: hot, humid summers with a June-July rainy spell and late-summer typhoons, and cold, often snowy winters on the north and Japan Sea side. Spring cherry blossom (late March-April) and crisp autumn colour (October-November) are the best months. Extremely safe with very low crime; English is limited outside big cities and tourist areas, but they drive on the left, which is familiar for Brits, and daily life runs smoothly once you settle in.
Vietnam: Tropical but varied by region: the south is warm year-round with a wet season (May-October), the centre around Da Nang is driest and best from February to August, and the north has a cooler winter. Vietnam is very safe with low crime and welcoming to foreigners, though English is less widely spoken outside cities; traffic is intense and driving is on the right, so many retirees avoid driving themselves.
Japan: Budget roughly 6-10% in one-off costs whether you're foreign or not — Japan adds no buyer surcharge for foreigners — covering agent commission (about 3% plus a fixed fee), a real-estate acquisition tax of around 3% of assessed value, registration and licence tax, stamp duty and a judicial scrivener's fee. A purchase typically completes within one to two months.
Vietnam: Foreigners cannot own land, only apartments in approved buildings on a renewable 50-year leasehold (capped at 30% of a block); expect around 10% VAT (usually in the price), a 0.5% registration fee, a maintenance or sinking fund near 2%, and legal costs, with independent legal checks essential.
Japan: Tokyo for energy, amenities and top hospitals; Fukuoka for a mild, affordable, walkable base popular with newcomers; Kyoto for culture and history; and subtropical, laid-back Okinawa — with cheap rural 'akiya' houses dotted across the countryside.
Vietnam: Da Nang for an affordable, laid-back beach city popular with retirees, Ho Chi Minh City (Districts 2/Thu Duc and 7) for the best hospitals and amenities, historic Hoi An nearby, and Hanoi for northern culture.
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