This page provides some information on working conditions and life in Japan for those who are considering their researcher position in Matsuo Lab.
All the tips and information are based on the experience of international researchers at Matsuo Laboratory.
Please note that the information provided below may not always align with the latest official updates from The University of Tokyo.

< Employment at University of Tokyo School of Engineering >

Contract Type: Annual contracts (For most cases). In Matsuo-lab, a maximum extension of up to 10 years is offered.

Tenure Track: Generally not available at the University of Tokyo, school of engineering.

Transition to Permanent Employment: Limited numbers of permanent professor positions at the University of Tokyo; essentially a waitlist for openings as retirements occur.

Available Positions: The hierarchy is as follows:

• Those without ‘Project’ are on permanent contracts.
• Project researchers and Project Assistant Professors have reduced administrative duties in faculty compared to other positions such as Lecturers. However, it is not allowed to have their own lab and students.
• At our lab, Project Researchers and Project Assistant Professors are only welcome to invite students with whom they wish to conduct research and supervise them as internship students.
• Currently, Visiting Professor and Visiting Associate Professor positions are not offered at The University of Tokyo School of Engineering.

Promotion Criteria: Promotion is determined by faculty meeting review based on the number of journals and international conference acceptances, along with other factors such as student supervision experience.

＜Working environment＞

Work Method: Remote work is acceptable 3 days per week (for full-time workers).

Working Language: Official meetings at the University of Tokyo and Matsuo Lab are in Japanese. English translations of important notices are available, and English translations of other documents are in progress. Many members of the lab can communicate in English.

Culture at Matsuo Lab: Bi-monthly social gatherings, Slack channels for club activities, weekly Deep Learning papers reading groups (every Friday morning).

Duties of Academic Career in Japanese University: 1) Research 2) Student supervision (having own lab is typically from the Lecturer level) 3) Activities of outreach 4) From the Lecturer level, additional duties like student selection and internal meetings increase.

Research funding: Since Matsuo Lab has a consulting team for obtaining external funding, you will not be asked to obtain research funding as long as your activities are in line with the direction of Matsuo Lab’s research. But there are some budget enforcement rules. If you wish to spend your budget freely and creatively, then you may need to obtain funding by yourself. The budget you got by yourself is allowed to be used at your own discretion.

< Evaluation system within the Matsuo Lab >

There are 3 types of evaluations depending on the purpose: Matsuo Lab Membership, Competency Evaluation, and Performance Evaluation (MBO).
Matsuo Lab membership and competence evaluations are conducted at the end of the year, and performance evaluations are conducted semi-annually.
On this page, we will introduce you to two main evaluations.

Competency Evaluation

Faculty and researchers are requested to submit their publication records, including the number of journal and conference acceptances, at the time of hire and annually between November and December.

Performance Evaluation (MBO)

Performance evaluation intends to evaluate whether the member has fulfilled his/her responsibilities that must be accomplished this year (in other words, it determines whether or not the member produced the expected results).

The evaluation is based on the semi-annual target setting.

• First half: target set in April → close in September → evaluation finalized at the interview in October
• Second half: target set in October → close in March → evaluation finalized at the interview in April

For researchers, some examples of target would include:

• Number of paper acceptances and submission
• Progress on assigned student guidance (depends on individual)

＜Human Resources and Payroll System＞

Working hours:

U of Tokyo full-time researchers   　Discretionary labor system（You can work at your preferred time.）
U of Tokyo others      　  　 　　　  Clock in/out timecard, 7h 45mins working time (45mins of lunchtime) etc.
Working time 9:30am.〜6:00pm.

Band system:

In our lab, staff members are categorized through a proprietary evaluation system into three bands, each subdivided into five levels: S, A, B, C, and D, making up a total of 15 distinct grades. Band 2 denotes junior-level competence, whereas Band 3 signifies senior-level research capability, with positions such as assistant professors and lecturers expected to attain at least a B level within Band 3. Annually in December, assessments including scholarly publications and student supervision contribute to determining each staff member’s band and salary for the next academic year, spanning from April to March.

Salary: The annual salary is composed of a base annual salary and a performance-based salary (20~25%).

Social insurance: Available through the Mutual Aid for the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology.

Medical checkups: Available once a year on the Hongo campus.

Other Benefits: None (e.g. Housing allowances, etc)

Further rules on Conditions of Employment : Please see U-Tokyo Website.

< Support Before and After Arrival in Japan >

The University of Tokyo has a website for international members with useful information and offers multiple services

Visa: Obtaining a Professor Visa is needed and it must be issued before the employment start date. The procedure usually takes 2-3 months, so we highly recommend you start working on it as soon as your job is decided. Although the visa application procedure can be done on your own through websites and by visiting the immigration office, the university has a visa consulting service office for support and consultation. Please notify the admin staff members of the lab if you wish to use the service. The service office offers consultation (free) and visa support (free for obtaining visas for researchers, but the fee is required for visa renewal or obtaining visas for their family members).

Legal Support (Residence Registration, etc.): Supports to be confirmed

Housing: You will be required to sign a contract independently, but housing support is available at the university. It is also possible to apply for university-owned housing. There is a page explaining the procedures for signing a contract on your own. Some housing is available for researchers and their families.

Travel Tickets: No specific allowances for travel to Japan or returning home.

Bank Account Setup: Individual arrangement is required. Some possible banks are Japan Post Bank or Mitsui Sumitomo. But Mitsui Sumitomo may be better in terms of opening hours and English services (based on personal experience). Orientation to set up a bank account is available at the beginning of the spring semester

< Life in Japan >

Prices and living expenses (how much do you need to live in Tokyo?) 

• Rent is about 100,000 yen per month, eating out 1,000-1,500 yen per time, and you can expect to spend 200,000 yen per month on living expenses at least. 

Tax:

• Tax for products is either 8% or 10%.
• In addition, there is a large income tax to be paid to the national government and an inhabitant tax to be paid to the municipality in which one resides. 
• Example: you earn 8.4 million yen (700,000 yen per month) a year
  • The national tax withholding is 565,920 yen, and the Inhabitant tax is 490,896 yen.
    • Taxes are levied on income after some deductions are made from the face value of the salary according to certain conditions.
    • Income tax is a progressive taxation so that the tax rate may increase as the salary increases. Income tax is deducted at the same time as the salary is paid, so approximately 10-15% is deducted from the salary, and any overpayment of tax is refunded at the end of the year.
    • Resident tax is imposed from the second year of residence in Japan.
  • Social Insurance and Pension: In addition to the aforementioned taxes, social insurance and pension contributions are deducted from the salary. For someone earning an annual salary of 8.4 million yen, this amounts to about 1,190,100 yen per year (the actual amount may vary depending on whether you have dependents and the prefecture you live in).
• Taking the above into account, the actual net annual income would be around 6.1 million yen. (512,757 yen per month)
• Table summarizing the information above

Salary	8,400,000
National Tax Withholding	565,920
Inhabitant tax	490,896
Social insurance and pension	1,190,100
Net annual income	6,153,084

• Detailed calculations can be assisted by using this external website.