Separately, does anyone know if the changes to commuting conditions have also brought in any changes to benefits for expats living locally in Japan? What changes are those, mate? There haven't been any changes to the commuting conditions, so I'm a little confused what you're asking about. If you live in Japan then, clearly, you won't be using the commuting ticket, so you would get to keep the $2000/month but, apart from that, the benefits are the same for all contract pilots, no matter where you live.
If you live locally will you end up with a pretty poor roster or is everyone the same? All the contract pilots are the same. If you live in Japan then there is a bit more flexibility in splitting your days off into smaller blocks throughout the month (if you wish), rather than taking all you days off in one fell swoop. However, as far as the work, trip pairings etc go, everybody is in the same boat and, if you chose not to split your days off and took them all off in one go in Japan, then you'd end up with a roster looking just like everybody else.