NISA for Foreign Residents in Japan (2026)

What is NISA?

NISA is a tax-exempt investment account that lets Japanese residents invest in stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds without paying the usual 20.315% tax on capital gains and dividends. The system was overhauled in 2024 and is now permanent with two combinable allocations:

Can foreigners open a NISA account?

Yes — if you are a tax resident of Japan with the following:

• Resident card (在留カード)
• My Number (mandatory)
• Japanese bank account
• Address in Japan and intention to stay

Restrictions:

• Only one NISA account per person across all brokers
• Must be aged 18 or over
• Cannot be open simultaneously with a US-tax-resident status (US citizens or green card holders generally cannot open NISA due to FATCA + brokers' compliance burden)

Choosing a brokerage

For most foreigners, SBI Securities or Rakuten Securities are the practical choice — lowest fees and full product range, even though the interface is primarily Japanese.

What to buy in NISA

For most long-term investors, the dominant choice is:

• eMAXIS Slim 全世界株式 (オール ・ カントリー) — World stock index fund, ~0.05% expense ratio
• eMAXIS Slim 米国株式 (S&P500) — US S&P500 index fund, ~0.09% expense ratio

Why funds and not individual US stocks/ETFs?

• Japanese-domiciled funds reinvest dividends internally, avoiding the US 10% dividend withholding tax that you cannot reclaim inside NISA.
• Individual US stocks/ETFs (VTI, VOO, AAPL) lose 10% on every dividend even inside NISA — a permanent leakage.
• For tax efficiency inside NISA, internal-reinvestment Japanese funds win. Save individual stocks for taxable accounts where you can use the foreign tax credit.

The US dividend tax problem (for foreigners specifically)

For citizens of countries with their own US tax treaties (UK, Germany, Australia, etc.), your home country may also tax these dividends — creating triple taxation potential. Consult a tax advisor familiar with your home country.

What happens when you leave Japan?

When you stop being a Japanese tax resident:

1. You must notify your broker within a few weeks of departure
2. NISA account is closed automatically
3. Existing holdings are transferred to a taxable account at their current market value (this becomes the new cost basis)
4. Future gains/dividends are taxed normally
5. If you have built up significant NISA gains, the unrealized portion remains untaxed — this is one of the better outcomes

The "lifetime cap" you used cannot be recovered for re-use by a new resident. If you return to Japan later, you start with a fresh limit.

NISA vs. iDeCo for foreigners

Foreigners on short-term assignments (1-3 years): NISA wins — no lockup and clean exit. Foreigners planning to stay long-term: use both — iDeCo for immediate tax deduction, NISA for tax-free growth on top.

Practical first steps

1. Get your My Number Card if you do not have one (required for NISA application)
2. Open a securities account with SBI or Rakuten (Japanese ID + utility bill needed)
3. Apply for NISA within the broker's interface — takes 1-2 weeks for tax office approval
4. Submit W-8BEN if you plan to hold US-domiciled securities outside NISA
5. Set up monthly auto-investment in eMAXIS Slim All-Country or S&P500 — JPY 30,000-100,000 monthly is a common starting range

Related guides

• Investing in Japan as a foreigner
• Working in Japan: tax basics
• Departing Japan checklist
• National Pension for foreigners