A post on China's SNS, Xiaohongshu (RED), stating "I regret returning (to China) from Japan," has garnered a significant response.

The woman who posted wrote, "I truly regret not renewing my work visa in Japan. I was still young then, and after working quite a bit in Japan, I thought it was probably fine to return to China. But I never imagined that my life after returning home would be less than one-third of what it was when I was in Japan."

According to the woman, when she first returned from Japan in 2022, she was very happy, and because she had enough money earned overseas, she relaxed at home and went out with friends for several months. She said she never even considered using her savings for self-investment.

Eventually, her family started telling her, "You can't just keep playing around forever," and "Why don't you open a small shop?" However, the woman was afraid of opening a shop and failing, and also said, "I didn't want to spend the money I worked so hard to earn overseas so easily," so for the time being, she decided to look for a job.

However, when she actually started looking for a job, she found that while Japan had a complete five-day work week (two days off per week), China mostly had only one day off per week. Unable to find a job that met her desired conditions, she compromised and decided to work for a monthly salary of 3200 yuan (approximately 75,000 yen) with one day off per week. However, even working diligently, she couldn't save money, and her boss became displeased whenever she took a day off.

Just the other day, when she took only one day off, her boss called her in and asked, "Why do you have so many errands? Can't you do them on your days off?" She retorted, "I can't always conveniently align things with my days off, and I only took one day off; I'm not constantly taking time off." However, her boss still seemed displeased.

On the other hand, she said that when she worked in Japan, if she applied for leave due to feeling unwell from her period, it was processed as paid leave, adding, "I truly realize now how comprehensive Japan's welfare benefits were. I genuinely regret not staying in Japan now."

She also listed her dissatisfactions, saying, "Over there (in Japan), if you work overtime, you get proper overtime pay, but in China, it's virtually unpaid overtime. My original salary isn't even that much, yet my personal time after work is increasingly cut, and I'm forced to work without pay." She appealed to her compatriots working in Japan, stating, "If you have the option to stay in Japan, I think you should stay there. Returning home does not necessarily mean everything will get better."

Chinese netizens responded to this post with comments such as: "Low salary and only one day off a week, that's too scary." "If you regret it, just go back to Japan." "Don't worry. Go to Japan again." "I've been working in Japan for decades, and the work environment here is truly not tiring." "I moved to the domestic division of the same company and returned home, but I'm preparing to go to Tokyo again."

Additionally, comments such as "I also regret not staying in Japan at that time. I thought Japan was easy but somehow boring. After returning home, it's not boring at all (I'm too busy with work to even think about it). Japan's current exchange rate is low, but if you earn in Japan and spend in Japan, it might not make much difference. In any case, I regret it" were also seen.

On the other hand, there were also opinions such as: "There are good points and bad points. Japan mainly lacks edible things [meaning variety of food or perhaps certain types of food]." "The domestic market is more suitable for starting a business, while overseas is suitable for working as a regular office worker." "If we only talk about work, both have their difficulties. If you go to Japan, you'll miss home; if you return home, you'll miss Japan. You just have to choose one." "Once you return home, all you can do is 'tangping' (lying flat, meaning living at your own pace with minimal effort) with your savings."

In addition, there were comments like, "In China, even if you use money for self-investment, finding a job isn't easy. If you return home, you can enjoy cheap services, but you yourself become a cheap commodity." And also harsh comments such as, "That's why people should know their own capabilities. If you mistake the advantages of your surroundings for your own abilities, you will make a serious error in judgment." (Translation/Editing by Kitada)