How to Send Money from Japan Overseas: Fees and Rules

To work out how to send money from Japan overseas, compare the recipient’s final amount, not just the advertised transfer fee. As of October 2026, MUFG Direct and Japan Post Bank each list a ¥3,000 outbound application charge for the routes described below, while Wise quotes a variable fee and rate before payment. Prepare your identity and My Number information, then retain the receipt if the transfer supports an overseas relative on a Japanese tax claim.

How to send money from Japan: choose by the amount received

Start with an account able to make the transfer. Check the destination country, the receiving bank’s account format, the recipient’s exact legal name and whether the payment can go to a local account or must travel over SWIFT. Ask the recipient which currency their bank will actually credit. Sending yen to a foreign-currency account may cause the destination bank to convert it at a less favourable rate.

Use the same yen budget, destination currency and date to compare quotes. A provider with a low visible application fee can still deliver fewer pesos, rupees, pounds or dollars after its exchange spread and intermediary deductions. Conversely, a provider with a larger upfront fee may give the recipient more. The only fair comparison is the final amount the recipient can use, including charges paid at the destination.

MUFG’s live charge table lists ¥3,000 for MUFG Direct sending to an overseas bank other than a MUFG overseas branch or subsidiary. The latter route lists ¥2,500; a supported counter application lists ¥7,000. Those are bank sending fees, not guaranteed total costs. Sending yen or funding a foreign-currency remittance from a foreign-currency deposit can add a 0.05% handling charge with a ¥2,500 minimum. Ask who pays intermediary and beneficiary-bank charges before instructing a bank wire.

Japan Post Bank’s current Yucho international-remittance web service lists a ¥3,000 application fee. It accepts less than ¥1 million per transfer, up to ¥2 million a day and ¥5 million a month. The recipient bank or an intermediary may deduct further charges. The bank ended the older counter and Yucho Direct application routes in August 2025, so an old tariff for those channels is not a usable quote in October 2026.

My Number and identity checks before the first transfer

個人番号 (kojin bangō, My Number) is Japan’s individual identification number. Providers may require evidence of it along with a residence card or other identity document, your registered address, account ownership and the purpose of the transfer. For Japan Post Bank’s international-remittance service, its May 2026 notice explicitly says the My Number must be registered to your Yucho account in advance at a savings counter. That registration step is distinct from merely typing a number into the web form.

The same Japan Post Bank notice says residence cards issued from 14 June 2026 cannot, for the time being, be used for the app-based document verification needed for web-service registration. A My Number card or driving licence may work for that identity route. If you have a newer residence card but neither alternative, resolve the identification route with the bank before promising a transfer date. Keep your account name and registered address up to date; a mismatch can delay verification.

Wise verifies identity and address for Japan-based customers and may ask for more information on a large transfer. Its live quote shows available ways to pay for the exact currency pair. Banks can also ask for a contract, payslip, inheritance document or other source-of-funds evidence, particularly when the size or pattern of payments needs explanation. Provide the true payment purpose and recipient details. A wrong name or account code can cause a delayed return, with charges already incurred.

Does the ¥1 million reporting threshold stop a transfer?

No. The National Tax Agency’s 2025 report explains 国外送金等調書 (kokugai sōkin tō chōsho, overseas remittance reports): a financial institution files a record when an outward or inward remittance exceeds ¥1 million. The record identifies the sender and recipient and includes the transaction amount. This is not a tax charged on the remittance, and exactly ¥1 million is not described as exceeding the threshold. Tax treatment depends on what the money represents, not merely on crossing that figure.

Provider product limits are a separate issue. Japan Post Bank’s current web route accepts less than ¥1 million per transfer. Wise says a Japan-addressed customer can create a large transfer from a bank, card or other supported payment method up to ¥150 million equivalent under its Type 1 route, while a transfer from an existing Wise balance and a single add-money transaction remain subject to a ¥1 million limit. Those routes are not interchangeable. Do not split a payment to disguise its purpose or to evade a provider’s questions; ask the provider which lawful route supports the real amount.

If you are moving capital, paying a supplier or settling a property purchase, discuss the documents and currency with the provider before initiation. A bank’s compliance review can take longer than the displayed delivery estimate. Keep evidence of the original funds and the recipient’s entitlement, especially if you later need to explain the transaction on a tax return. The Japan tax-return guide covers income reporting separately from the transfer mechanics.

Keep remittance proof for an overseas-dependant claim

If you support a family member abroad and claim a Japanese dependant deduction, save the remittance confirmation that identifies that relative. The National Tax Agency’s remittance-document guidance requires evidence of payments to each overseas relative claimed. It also describes a statement-and-sample-documents route when you made three or more payments to the same person during the year, while requiring you to retain the underlying records. A bank statement showing only a withdrawal from your Japanese account may not establish who received the money.

Record the recipient’s legal name, relationship, transfer date, amount and provider reference; retain any translated relationship documents the tax process requires. Transfers to one relative do not automatically support deductions for other family members. Also, a receipt does not by itself make a relative eligible: age, income and special remittance conditions still apply. Use the year-end tax-adjustment guide for those tests and your employer’s document deadline. If the claim is missed or disputed, your eventual residence-tax calculation may also change.

For a disputed overseas-dependant deduction or the tax treatment of a large remittance, consult a 税理士 (zeirishi, licensed tax accountant).