Help needed

[kpauner]

Hi Guys
bad news for me. My school guidance counselor just said to me that working in Japan would be impossible for me, unless i could find a job myself.
Which he highly doubt i can. This school has connection all over the world, but they couldnt find anything for me in Japan.

I would love to find an "internship/apprentice job" in Japan, but how? The ones i have looked at wants someone fluent in Japanese.

here is a bit about me
20 years old
Studying graphics design
fluent in danish, very proficient in english
the company does not pay me as they would a fulltime employed graphics designer, as i am still a student..

how do i go about this? does anyone in Japan want a student that cant speak Japanese to work as graphics designer?
any help appreciated, i would love to go to Japan to study, but my school has failed me..

Cheers

[chachava]

unless you can do some kind of graphic design that Japanese people are not skilled enough to do, it's unlikely you will have much luck I'm afraid

That's not to say it's impossible, but I hope you speak fluent Japanese and forgot to mention it...

[kpauner]

Originally Posted by chachava

unless you can do some kind of graphic design that Japanese people are not skilled enough to do, it's unlikely you will have much luck I'm afraid

That's not to say it's impossible, but I hope you speak fluent Japanese and forgot to mention it...

Japanese people are not skilled enough to do
you must be kidding me, im doomed..

where are all the japanese companies that want to outsource to europe..
do you know any links for japanese companies looking specifically for foreigners?

this pretty much sucks..

[chachava]

Originally Posted by kpauner

Japanese people are not skilled enough to do
you must be kidding me, im doomed..

where are all the japanese companies that want to outsource to europe..
do you know any links for japanese companies looking specifically for foreigners?

this pretty much sucks..

The only Japanese companies I can think of who will actively search out foreign employees are language schools...

As for the skill levels, it's all because of the visa - why would a company want to go through the hassle of sponsoring someone who isn't even in the country, when a Japanese person could do the job without one?

Maybe others will have a better idea, but unless you find a company to ship you out to Japan (like me - engineering), then your best bet is probably to marry a Japanese girl (though you will still likely need a VERY high degree of Japanese speaking/reading/writing to secure anything better than language teaching)

[kpauner]

Originally Posted by chachava

The only Japanese companies I can think of who will actively search out foreign employees are language schools...

As for the skill levels, it's all because of the visa - why would a company want to go through the hassle of sponsoring someone who isn't even in the country, when a Japanese person could do the job without one?

Maybe others will have a better idea, but unless you find a company to ship you out to Japan (like me - engineering), then your best bet is probably to marry a Japanese girl (though you will still likely need a VERY high degree of Japanese speaking/reading/writing to secure anything better than language teaching)

Okey thanks for the help chachava
i guess theres not much to do..

aah ill keep trying though, maybe ill get lucky (lol)

Cheers

[anrakushi]

internships are definitely available in Japan as i know several people currently on them but they are completely different fields to what you are after. There is definitely some demand out there for foreigners in Japan but as you said there is a need for Japanese. If you have no Japanese ability internships might be difficult as the people i know studied a Japanese program with me at a university in Japan.

I think you are going to be out of luck i'm afraid. but if you can find ways to network then go for it, because if you can network with some Japanese/Foreign businessmen in Japan they might be able to help you out. In just about all countries, networking is one of, if not the best way to get ahead =)

[blimp]

i think you should try a danish company in japan, a subsidiary, not sure if they need a graphic designer though. also try advertising agencies, preferably the ones with foreign companies as their customers.
or what u could try is to contact publishers of magazines in english; kansai time-out, metropolis(?). i don't know them too well but perhaps u can find more.

good luck!
/blimp who did an EU internship in japan many years ago

[Lucyenn]

here there are a lot of people who can help you!

[kpauner]

Wow thanks alot
Feel like i can make this work! The city i live in does not offer any language programs (japanese) so i considered traveling to Japan on my vacation and learning Japanese, and hopefully network a lot

I have family in Japan (far out), i have never spoken to them before, but if i am lucky they will help me out (though i somehow doubt it)

blimp
The problem is how do i know what company has office in Japan? What companies have English costumers? I will try working it out..

[blimp]

Originally Posted by kpauner

blimp
The problem is how do i know what company has office in Japan? What companies have English costumers? I will try working it out..

i know some embassies got lists of their companies in japan on their websites. Have a look at the danish one, or perhaps they got an export promotion webpage.