Tomoki Yoshihara starts his shift at a meat-processing plant in rural Australia at 5 a.m., and earns three times more butchering lamb for almost 50 hours a week than he did as a member of Japan’s military.
He’s among a record number of young Japanese granted working holiday visas in Australia last financial year, lured by higher wages that are made even more attractive by the weakening yen.
"From a salary perspective, it’s so much better here,” said the 25-year-old, who earns around 5,000 Australian dollars ($3,300) a month after tax and lives in Goulburn, south of Sydney. "If you want to save money, Australia is the place to be.”
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