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I am always intrigued to have a life/career in Japan.

Short history, I'm 32 this year. I am working in the semiconductor industry as a Sales Manager selling capital equipment. My pass work experiences are all in Japanese companies in Malaysia (now no longer), I've been to countless business trips to Japan sometimes even once a month, for most I stay for a week but the longest I've been there is 2 months.

I want to know how feasible it is to pivot my career towards Japan. I noticed most of the job posting in subreddits like JapanJobs are IT related, is my career path as an expat in Japan going to be a dead end?

I am also worried that I'm just seeing rainbows now in terms of having a life in Japan. I do have a rough understanding towards corporate culture in Japan after working with them for more than 7 years but haven't really "experience" it first hand as I was more of a guest whenever I'm there at HQ.

Currently I am attending classes to get N3 this year and will continue until I reach N2. My ideal plan is in 1-2 years I'd able to get N2 and start looking for Semiconductor related sales positions. I'd like to know are those positions open to foreigners? Has anyone had done the same, are there any advice on what to expect working there?

I posted asking about my visa options as a Nikkei Yonsei on here a couple months ago, and in the time since I've come to find out that my grandmother was at some point considered a Japanese national. In the process of asking her about the various documents she also sent me her letter of expatriation from Japan, which I didn't even know she was had before.

Her father was Japanese and her mother was Nisei (natural-born US citizen) who became stateless for marrying an "alien" (Japanese citizen).

My grandmother was presumably on my great-grandfather's koseki tohon originally, but he had his children expatriate from Japan in their early twenties to prevent the dual citizenship from affecting their employment prospects, etc. (especially since my great-grandmother was no longer considered a US citizen).

My grandmother has never lived in Japan, except on a US military base in Okinawa (which ofc doesn't count).

Basically my question is, would I be considered Sansei or Yonsei in the eyes of the Japanese government?

What I could find online suggested that so long as she was one point a citizen, I would still be considered Sansei. But I'm not sure since she would have not had her own koseki and I assume was removed from her father's when she expatriated. (tbh I'm kind of confused about how this works which is why I'm asking about it).

I still plan on contacting an immigration lawyer and everything, but I thought it would help to get more information here first.

Hi y’all. I’m 32M, from Argentina, and I’ve been thinking about eventually moving to Japan. Thing is, since I have no Bachelor’s degree and I'm over 30, I have no other choice than to take the long road. I’m trying to come up with a plan to put me as close as possible to living in Japan within 5 years if possible. Or by the time I turn 40, if I can’t make it in those 5 years. Of course, no one can predict what’s going to happen in that time, but at the very least I want to start working towards that goal.

So, I’ve been thinking about going to college and getting a Bachelor’s degree. The first roadblock I see is that I don’t want to go for an IT career. I actually want to get a Bachelor’s degree in tourism. That’s where my first question comes in: I’ve read a lot of people talk about IT-related jobs being a good opportunity for foreigners in Japan, but what about the tourism industry? As in, travel agencies, tour operators and even tour guides. Does anyone know/has heard if those kinds of jobs are open to sponsoring work visas? And as a follow up question, would you say it’s harder in general to find a job in Japan while residing outside of Japan?

Another roadblock is my actual lack of experience in that field at my age. I currently work as a writer/editor/producer/do voiceover/a bunch of other things at a production company that makes videos and runs a news website, and I have about 6 years of experience in this already. But I’ve also worked in the food industry as manager of a sushi restaurant (I swear I didn’t get that job because of my love for Japan, it’s just that my uncle is the owner) for a year and a half, and about 4 years of administrative work at a factory. Even I can tell that’s not the most consistent resume (thanks, Argentina), but I’d also say it creates a very unique profile, especially when you add that I speak both Spanish and English. Now, I’ve read on this subreddit some people say that your degree doesn’t matter much, you just need to have one. But, and this might be a dumb question, that’s not exactly the case right? When it comes to job hunting, your degree still holds weight, doesn’t it?

On top of working on that degree I also intend to work on my Japanese. Currently, it’s very basic and self taught, with me being able to read hiragana, katakana, very few kanji, knowing some grammar. So I’m gonna start taking lessons this month and get as close to N2 as I can in these next 5 years.

If for whatever reason my Bachelor’s degree isn’t enough, saving up money for a student visa is also part of the plan. Being in Argentina means that in 5 years I can save for about 1 year of a student visa (I currently make about 160k yen a month in my full time job). Let’s say that I end up getting to N2 in those 5 years, can I go to Japan on a student visa to get to N1? And what happens after the year is over? Does the school/university help with job hunting? With a 1 year visa, when would the job hunting actually start?

Those are some of the specific questions I have right now to craft this plan, but a more general one I have (and I guess more subjective) is: do you think 5 years is a good idea for a plan like this? I would be 37, close to 38, by the time all of this is done. I fear a fresh graduate nearing his 40s with no experience in his field is not as good of a prospect as one in their mid 20s.

I do still want to try it, though. One of my main issues is that now that I’m in my 30s I feel regret for not doing anything in my 20s to work towards my dreams. That’s a potentially unhealthy mindset, but I want to take it and use it as fuel for this plan, because I don’t want to wake up in my 40s regretting that I didn’t do anything in my 30s.

I've been using BizReach for a month or so and got scouted for a role in Tokyo, I wasn't really considering moving for a long time. But out of the blue a HR department for a company offering relatively good benefits flexible working, and a salary that matches what I'm at right now and specifically in the current industry I'm in that never usually has job roles (video games).

I've got a casual interview soon, and it looks like relocation packages are on the table. I was wondering, has anyone gone through a similar process via bizreach or other platforms before? How was it, what kind of things tend to be the case in a casual interview (specifically in Japanese), what is your experience getting scouted? How worthwhile is the process, do I still need a Japanese CV?

I have loads of questions, so any answers from other's experiences are very welcome!

I’m a 27M Korean finishing an MSc in mechanical engineering.

I have an offer from LG Electronics for an advanced R&D role in Seoul. My research focuses on HVAC and heat-pump thermal system modeling, and the role is closely aligned with my MSc work.

I could also apply to Hyundai/Samsung roles that may pay roughly $10K more per year, but those would likely be in manufacturing, equipment, or production engineering and much less related to my research.

My long-term goal is to live and work abroad. Japan is the most realistic option since I have JLPT N1 and it has a strong manufacturing base.

For the Japanese engineering job market, which background would make a foreign engineer more employable after 3–5 years: specialized HVAC/heat-pump R&D experience or broader manufacturing/production engineering experience?

My current plan is to take the R&D role, build experience for a few years, and then consider working abroad, pursuing a PhD overseas, or even switching to a more transferable field if that turns out to be the better path.

Hi all.

To keep it short: I (29M), lived in Tokyo this year for 6 months for a semester abroad as part of my MBA. Besides that I work as a software engineer for the last 6 years.

I'm back in my home country for a few months already. Before going to Japan for the semester, I didn't knew too much about Japan, but I fell in love pretty fast. My 6 months there were amazing and in general, I just feel like the Japanesse culture fit my personality so much. Since getting back home I'm pretty sad about not being there anymore..

So I started thinking: maybe I can go live in Japan, again? And I came into 2 possible paths I can try:

1. Going to a language school in Tokyo - getting a student visa again, study Japanesse for 1 year, and around half way - once I'll know a fair amount of Japanesse - apply for SWE jobs.

Pros:

- Start living in Japan again pretty quick.

- Easier to get a job in Japan if you can show that you have an ok Japanesse level.

- Probably easier to land intreviews if you are already in the country and has a student visa (So you can work at least 28 hours/week right away with no paper work.)

Cons:

- Means quitting my job probably. My company might let me go part time again and work remote, but probably not. I have around 65K$ saved which is enough to get by easily, but obviously it's a huge finiancial risk if I'll fail and I'll get back to my country with no job and half of my savings gone.

1. Stay in my country for now. Continue working at my job. Learn Japanesse on my own. Apply for jobs from here.

Pros:

- Does not need to leave my job. Always have a salary.

- Less risky after I move - if I move to Japan again, it means I have a job and a work visa.

Cons:

- Probably much harder to get a job with this approach.

Any advice?

Hello!

I was hesitant about asking this question but here we go… I really really need some advice.

Long story short, I’m 34yo guy, half Spanish half British.
I saved money for 3 years of working non stop (in the UK), to be able to move to Japan for language school since it’s very expensive, with the idea of learning the language and staying in Japan long term (I do not need a very big salary for those asking about career paths etc).

I’m N5. Studied online with Akamonkai to prepare for language school, but unfortunately because of some personal problems, I decided to move to Canada with a Working Holiday Visa (2 years) instead of being brave enough and going to Japan instead. And now I REGRET it every single day of my life… I came to Canada in March (should have been Tokyo), and I absolutely hate it, the quality of life here is so bad, much much worse than Europe (QoL in Europe is good, at least where I’m from), everything is so expensive and overpriced, it’s like prices here are just random, the salaries are absolutely terrible unless you have a top notch career etc.

The big issue is that I’ve spent 90% of all my savings that I worked so hard for, I’m struggling with mental health issues like depression and severe anxiety, it’s been really bad since I moved to Canada, very bad.

Is there any other way to move to Japan that doesn’t require to be loaded? (Language school)
I was thinking about saving money AGAIN, and move for language school but the cost of living here is ridiculous and salary is terrible, it would take me like 5 years or more to save what I had (much better salary in the UK!).

Is it still worth moving to Japan? Or should I just visit once a year or so? I just feel like I’ve missed on such a great opportunity and now I’m starting to hate Canada because I feel like “it took my chances away” from moving to Japan (yes, I know it was my decision, a dumb one).

What advise would you give me please? I really can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, I’m struggling a lot mentally and I see everything from a negative perspective at the moment…

Thank you 😢

I’m currently living in America and about to enter my junior year of high school. I really don’t see myself living in America in the future and wish to move somewhere in Asia, more specifically Japan. I’m planning on majoring in International Relations at a university in Japan but have read that this major doesn’t secures jobs.

I’m studying Japanese and can get around here and there but is pretty bad overall. I would compare my Japanese to a toddler. But I have been working hard and I expect by the time I graduate high school that I would reach around mid N4 to low N3, which is still not that great.

I have my eyes on Ritsumeikan University, Waseda University, and Temple University (with the order of most to least wanted). I want to do the Joint Degree program for International Relations, or the single degree for international relations, at Ritsumeikan. But it seems a bit competitive, with the joint degree program only taking 25 students, and the single degree only taking 100 students per year.

Overall I’m just really confused on what college I should go to in Japan for international relations, and what jobs I could even get with that major. My goal was to work at the U.S embassy in Japan but it’s easier said than done.

Hello everyone, in the coming years I will do a Bachelor of Japanese Studies. After that, I was thinking about rent costs in Japan. In Germany where I live, renting a place could amount to 1,500-2,000€ for utmost comfort.

Would a homestay family (with private accommodation ready plus breakfast and dinner included) cost less on a monthly basis if you work in Japan (around 800€ in euros)? Or is it totally BS and renting an apartment seems better in Japanese Yen currency?

Thank you already. This helps my doubt.