Jobs in Japan

[Heru]

What types of jobs are available to foreigners mostly? I saw Teacher, Financial, and IT.

With financial jobs are financial analyst or investment bankers in need in Japan so much that a foreigner could fill the spot?

I'm just wondering what type of business job opportunities there are there. Either way I plan on a MBA and starting with teacher as foot in the door.

[Kai13]

Is a career in economic diplomacy (in Japan) a good one?

[Heru]

Originally Posted by Kai13

Is a career in economic diplomacy (in Japan) a good one?

are you asking?

[Kai13]

Originally Posted by Heru

are you asking?

Yes, but not to you. Is the same kind of question you did before so I took advantage of it to ask it here. Sorry for the inconvenience

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by Heru

What types of jobs are available to foreigners mostly? I saw Teacher, Financial, and IT.

With financial jobs are financial analyst or investment bankers in need in Japan so much that a foreigner could fill the spot?

I'm just wondering what type of business job opportunities there are there. Either way I plan on a MBA and starting with teacher as foot in the door.

Finish your undergrad with a 4.0, do the JET program for a year, pass the JLPT 1 and then get your MBA, I would say you would be a complete douche if you couldn't net more than 100k USD living in Japan by 30 with that formula.

What type of business jobs specifically, browse gaijinpot.com. However know that the types of jobs that people with MBA get don't exactly post help wanted ads. A lot of people are picked up by recruiters.

My best advice, don't get too far ahead of yourself. Dreams are nice, but you need to focus on what is right in front of you now to succeed.

[jasonbvr]

Originally Posted by Kai13

Is a career in economic diplomacy (in Japan) a good one?

As in working for the State Department? I would wager that you would be a D.C. drone for a few years, but yes you could eventually be able to work for the embassy in Japan.

[promontorium]

In Roppongi there are lots of foreigner bartenders, waiters, waitresses, and doormen. In Shibuya, and other places, I've seen a lot of foreigners who own their own businesses. That's one surefire in for you, if you have a business degree, and want to bring employment to Japan (rather than you getting employment from them) the Japanese government loves that. I have yet to see any mention of it on this forum (though this is my first time on this site lol). But the Japanese government has gone to some lengths to try to promote "imported" enterprise. Almost any place that's big and has tourists has gaijin business owners.

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by promontorium

In Roppongi there are lots of foreigner bartenders, waiters, waitresses, and doormen. In Shibuya, and other places, I've seen a lot of foreigners who own their own businesses. That's one surefire in for you, if you have a business degree, and want to bring employment to Japan (rather than you getting employment from them) the Japanese government loves that. I have yet to see any mention of it on this forum (though this is my first time on this site lol). But the Japanese government has gone to some lengths to try to promote "imported" enterprise. Almost any place that's big and has tourists has gaijin business owners.

Yes, there are foreign owned businesses in Japan. Optimistically speaking, 1/10 of 1% of businesses in Japan may be foreign owned. And, like with most other businesses, only 1/3 which open their doors will manage to remain in business for more than 3 years.

As for the foreigners working as bartenders, waiters, doormen, etc., you do see them, but it's extremely low end and poor paying work. I see the ads all the time, "pays 1000 yen per hour, must have proper visa". People complain about English teaching, but it pays more than double than this amount, and often more.

Then there are the finance jobs, but pretty much all foreign-owned institutions have frozen their hiring here. After Bear Stearns collapsed, there were quite a few traders and others here looking for work, and most of them were picked up by other banks. But when Lehman collapsed, there were simply too many people without jobs, and banks that were already looking at downsizing. I'm wondering how the "lucky" few Lehman employees who were picked up by Nomura will feel after they've been there for awhile. Nomura is a very Japanese company, with the rigid structure and ridiculous hours that go along with it.

[Heru]

Originally Posted by promontorium

In Roppongi there are lots of foreigner bartenders, waiters, waitresses, and doormen. In Shibuya, and other places, I've seen a lot of foreigners who own their own businesses. That's one surefire in for you, if you have a business degree, and want to bring employment to Japan (rather than you getting employment from them) the Japanese government loves that. I have yet to see any mention of it on this forum (though this is my first time on this site lol). But the Japanese government has gone to some lengths to try to promote "imported" enterprise. Almost any place that's big and has tourists has gaijin business owners.

I did some quick looking around into that. Seems like a interesting option.

The thing is Idk what type of visa you would get..If you start a business in japan do you get a working visa for working for your own company? or rather owning it.

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by Heru

I did some quick looking around into that. Seems like a interesting option.

The thing is Idk what type of visa you would get..If you start a business in japan do you get a working visa for working for your own company? or rather owning it.

People do self-sponsor themselves for work visas in Japan, but these are people who are well established here. They have an address, a bank account, and records of their income and tax payments. Most have worked for a regular employer for at least one year before attempting to sponsor their own visas.

Most are not company owners, they are generally self-employed types, singers, entertainers, or teachers. They earn their income directly from clubs, restaurants, or students. There is a minimum income requirement, and I'm not sure how much it is. In other words, if you don't make enough money while being self-employed, you may not be able to sponsor yourself for a visa.