Winter Seasonal Workers in Niseko and Japanese Tax

By MISAWA Masaki, Certified Tax Accountant (Zeirishi, Reg. No. 157367) — formerly of Japan’s tax authorities · Published July 12, 2026 · Reviewed July 17, 2026

Every winter, Niseko draws large numbers of seasonal workers from overseas — ski instructors, hotel staff, restaurant staff. Why does someone who works in Japan for only the few months of a single winter end up paying Japanese tax? This article explains the mechanism step by step.

Resident or non-resident?

The first thing to consider is whether, under Japanese tax law, the person is a “resident” or a “non-resident.” A person who has no domicile in Japan and does not plan to live here for a year or more is classified as a non-resident. A worker who comes for a single winter is normally a non-resident. And even for a non-resident, salary attributable to work performed within Japan is subject to Japanese income tax, with 20.42% withheld when the salary is paid.

The short-term visitor (183-day) exemption

At the same time, many tax treaties contain a provision known as the short-term visitor exemption. It is often introduced along these lines: if your stay is no more than 183 days in the tax year (or in a 12-month period), the country where you work does not tax your salary. But the exemption has conditions beyond the day count. Under a typical treaty, all three of the following must be satisfied: (1) the stay does not exceed 183 days; (2) the employer paying the salary is not a resident of the country where the work is performed; and (3) the salary is not borne by a permanent establishment in that country.

Why the exemption rarely helps in Niseko

The wages of seasonal workers in Niseko are usually paid by Japanese businesses located in Niseko or Kutchan — the operators of the hotels, ski schools and restaurants. Because the employer is a resident of Japan, condition (2) is not met. So even if the stay is within 183 days, the short-term visitor exemption is not available. What the exemption is really designed for is the case of someone who remains employed by a foreign company and comes to Japan on a short business trip — not someone hired by a Japanese business to work in Japan.

20.42% withholding from the first payday

The result is that a single-winter seasonal worker’s salary is, as a rule, subject to 20.42% withholding from the very first payday. This is the non-resident treatment, distinct from the tax tables applied to residents’ salaries. Neither “I’ll be going home soon, so Japanese tax doesn’t concern me” nor “under 183 days means tax-free” is accurate.

Note that, depending on the planned length of stay and the form of employment, a person may in some cases qualify as a resident, and treaty terms vary from country to country. For the businesses doing the hiring, this is also a question of their own withholding obligations. When taking staff on, explaining in advance how withholding works and how it affects take-home pay goes a long way towards preventing trouble later.