How to Use — from zero to a chart in 3 minutes

If it's your first time, just work through it from top to bottom and you'll get your results. It takes about 2 minutes to read and about 3 minutes to enter your details. That said, the simulator is designed so you can tell how to use it just by looking at the screen, so you don't have to read this whole page. Please feel free to take a peek only when you get stuck.

Open the simulator →

1. Step 1

   Choose your path

   At the very top of "01 Basic Info," there are 5 paths to choose from. Tap the one that's closest to your idea of your own path. Your starting salary and retirement payout are set automatically here. You can fine-tune them later, so for now it's fine to just pick the closest one.

   If you're not sure, choose "University / Grad School → Company Employee."

2. Step 2

   Enter your age and savings

   Enter your current age and your current savings (a rough number is fine). It's perfectly OK to start with "0 yen in savings." The chart on the right updates each time you enter something.

3. Step 3

   Map out your income journey

   In "02 Income Journey," you enter your monthly income and pay-raise rate for both your part-time period and your full-time period.

   • If you have a part-time job: Turn the "Work part-time" toggle ON, then enter your monthly income and "the age you become a full-time employee."
   • If you don't have a part-time job (living only on support from your parents, going straight to work after vocational school, already working, etc.): Turn the "Work part-time" toggle OFF, and the part-time income field disappears. Just enter "the age you become a full-time employee."
   • If you're already working: Set "the age you become a full-time employee" to be the same as "your current age," and the calculation starts from your full-time period right away.

   If you're planning to change jobs, use "+ Add a job change" to switch your monthly income at that age.

4. Step 4

   Set up your lifestyle

   In "03 Lifestyle," enter your rent and monthly living expenses. When you press "+ Add a move," you can switch your rent and living expenses together at that age. You can change things step by step: living alone → marriage → living as a family.

5. Step 5

   One-off expenses / side income / investments

   In 04, place planned purchases like trips, a car, or a computer by age. In 05, set whether you'll have side income, and in 06, how much you save each month. The investment return defaults to 5% per year, but changing it to something more conservative (2–3%) makes it closer to reality.

6. Step 6

   Place your life events

   Marriage, children, buying a home. Set the age and cost for each on the cards in "07 Life Events." You can also build a "no marriage, no children" plan with the same simulator. Combine them freely and compare a few different plans.

7. Step 7

   Set up your retirement

   In "08 Retirement," enter your retirement age, life expectancy, monthly pension, and retirement payout. If you know your expected national / employees' pension amounts, please enter the real values; if you don't, it's fine to leave the defaults as they are.

8. Step 8

   View and save your results

   On the right you'll see your "navigation chart" and "annual balance." Your assets in 5, 10, 20, and 30 years are shown at the top. For a plan you like, you can give it a name and keep it using the "Save" button at the very bottom. You can also use "Share" to create a URL and talk it over with your family or partner.

When things don't go smoothly

If you try it and find yourself thinking "huh?", take a look here. Most things are explained below.

The chart isn't moving properly

Try refreshing (reloading) the page in your browser. If that still doesn't change anything, pressing "Reset to default values" at the very bottom often fixes it.

The numbers are too big / too small

You may have moved a slider too far. You can return to the defaults with "Reset to default values." Changing just one item you're curious about, a little at a time, makes its effect easier to see.

I can't see the results on the right on my phone

On a phone, the results appear toward the bottom of the page. After moving a slider a little, try scrolling all the way down the page.

I don't understand a term

Tapping the "?" mark at the top right of each card brings up a short explanation. If that still doesn't help, the How It Works page has a bit more detail.

I want to adjust things in more detail

Switch to "Detailed" mode at the top right of the screen, and all the normally hidden sliders appear.

When you're ready

Open the simulator →