Yeh SHAGS, you're right, morale is bad most places nowdays!
It's usual management stuff. Screwing around with the contract, trying to save 10 Yen. Amongst other things "B Scales" were introduced about a year ago for Upgraded FO's and New FO's, although they just announced a bit of an increase for them as they can't get anyone to join. Still not up to the original Capt and FO salaries.
Commuting allowance still does not cover a full fare economy ticket from anywhere.
Contract is 10 days off/month. Very rare to get one day more than that as they constantly point out that the contract says 10 days. So we used to sit around in Japan on extra days off doing nothing! Although they are so short of pilots now it's very rare to be sitting around. Nippon Cargo management, on the other hand, have always had the attitude if you are not required to fly then stay at home and they generally get about 15 days off/month. However I think they are busier now too.
If you want to work in Japan then NCA is the hands down winner.
OTTER: training will take between 6 and 8 months. Rostering is very poor, still done by hand, not enough pilots, majority is all night, very fatiguing, no fair spread of overtime and heaps of Dead Heading around Japan. Some schedules have you doing 2 bus trips (one of which is 1.5 hours), a dead head then another 1.5 hour bus trip, then an all night flight to HNL. It's madness! Unfortunately it's legal in this place.
You can not live here with your family and work for AJX. No visas are arranged, except for training. You enter and exit Japan on a shore pass as per any foreign crew.
Hope this has helped.