Payin' the bills! Health insurance, phone, & .. national income tax
(Add the highlighted bits, divide by 100 to roughly get the amount in USD. And keep in mind that this is in addition to 83000JPY [$830] for rent, and that my apartment would be 1/3 to 1/2 this cost most places I'm likely to live soon. ... I'm dipping into savings to get by this month.)
By switching from full time to part time, I've stumbled upon new facet of Japanese culture that I'd previously been shielded from. Taxes and national health insurance are normally the responsibility of one's company. That's right, Japanese people don't have to file their taxes--and, they get national "you pay 1/3" health insurance. In your company, there's always an office somewhere that has people that push buttons and make forms work, and then later, magically, you get a paycheck and all the taxes & insurance are paid.
..unless you work part time. Then all that stuff becomes your business. And it sucks.
It could have been the stupidest thing I've done since arriving in this country, but 20 minutes ago I paid about $1080 (in cash, of course--this is Japan) at my 7-11. The clerk stuttered when politely reading the amount. One zero (at least) too many..
Why so much, you ask? Well, the income tax is calculated based on your previous year's amount. This incredibly stupid system means that if you go from full time to one part time job, you MUST pay double (or slightly more than double) taxes the first year you're part time. Or hire an accountant. Which you can't afford. Because you work part time.
I now appreciate why things don't change fast here. If you change, you get screwed.
Anyway... I paid my bills like a good responsible citizen. I don't want any trouble. And I know that the system won't change for me--my recourse now is to get an accountant who will file for my refund in the (very likely) event of my leaving the country. At the very least, I feel 100% confident that the system will refund to me some time next year at least half of what I just paid.
