Seeking advice

[samokan]

see the site below:

lawyer visa japan immigration
MOFA: A Guide to Japanese Visas - Types and Categories of Visa

this one is the most detailed ( i think )
www.debito.org: Brief on Japanese Permanent Residency Requirements

[johnnyboydave]

I've read those 3 sites you listed and didn't find anything on the opportunity levels of finding a job once you have permanent residency. Thank you for providing the links though.

I understand all about the visas. From the information I've been gathering, it is nearly impossible to get a job from within Japan on a visa. Most employers, from what I've gathered, aren't going to hire you if you're working on a visa. So, my plan is to get renewals as an ALT or JTE until I can apply for permanent residency (through marriage to a Japanese resident, if I'm lucky).

I'm seeking info on pretty much whether or not I can expect to get hired once I get permanent residency. Although I'll be legally a permanent resident, their will still be employers who won't hire me, since I don't have the "Asian" looks a natural born full blooded Japanese native would have. So, I'm wondering just how much of an impact not being naturally born Japanese will have on my chances for landing a career in something other then teaching English.

[samokan]

Originally Posted by johnnyboydave

I've read those 3 sites you listed and didn't find anything on the opportunity levels of finding a job once you have permanent residency. Thank you for providing the links though.

are you sure you have read and understand them? By the time you have acquired a permanent residency, you are pretty much stable on your job, and have a high level on Japanese.

Originally Posted by johnnyboydave

I understand all about the visas. From the information I've been gathering, it is nearly impossible to get a job from within Japan on a visa. .

This I don't quite grasp. What kind of visa are planning on getting?
If you are planning to get a working visa, you need to get accepted on a job first before you can get the visa. Same goes with the student visa .. but as you say, you have already read all about this.

Most employers, from what I've gathered, aren't going to hire you if you're working on a visa. So, my plan is to get renewals as an ALT or JTE until I can apply for permanent residency (through marriage to a Japanese resident, if I'm lucky).

HA????

I'm seeking info on pretty much whether or not I can expect to get hired once I get permanent residency. Although I'll be legally a permanent resident, their will still be employers who won't hire me, since I don't have the "Asian" looks a natural born full blooded Japanese native would have. So, I'm wondering just how much of an impact not being naturally born Japanese will have on my chances for landing a career in something other then teaching English.

hired on what? how will you get a permanent residency if you don't have a good record ( career and everything else ). As Ive stated above by the time you are qualified to apply for a permanent residency, you already have a established life in Japan... and here I thought you read the article already ...

good luck though.

[razeno]

Dear all,
I'm a new member here. I'm a journalist from Nepal.

I came to Japan to participate in the Universal Congress of Esperanto, which took place in Facifiko Yokohama in Yokohama. It was a wonderfull gathering of over 1900 people from all over the world who speak the same international language Esperanto. It was a nice gathering.

Esperanto movement started in Japan a century ago, and you have quite a big community here, with Esperanto clubs in all major cities. Wonderful.

Afte the congress, I visited Yohohama, Kyoto, Okayama, Hiroshima, Osaka and Nara. In all cities, local espernatists provited me cozy home-stay and I got chance to learn more about Japanese society. It was indeed like a dream for me. You can read my travelogue in Esperanto at my blogsite: www.razeno.blogspot.com.

Please visit the site www.jei.or.jp if you want to know about Esperanto-movement in Japan and for Esperanto en la mondo, please log on at www.esperanto.org

I'm going back tomorow to Nepal. It was indeed a nice stay here. Thank you all, who helped supported and cared me during my visit.

Sayonara.

Razen Manandhar
www.razeno.net

[MMM]

Wow. That was kind of random.

Anyway... I had never heard about this "permanent residency after 5 years" thing. I was under the understanding that to be a permanent resident you need to have a full time job or be married here. You can't "default" to a permanent residency, I thought. The last thing Japan wants is foreigners without jobs, which would occur under the system you describe.

Maybe it is something new, but I have never heard of it before...

[johnnyboydave]

Marrying a Japanese girl was sarcasm. I thought the parenthesis gave that away. Guess not >< Although I do want to marry a Japanese girl someday ^.~

[johnnyboydave]

In any case, from what I have read, it is true that if you are married to a permanent resident Japanese native, you can apply for permanent residency after 5 years. That's what I was getting to when I made that sarcastic remark.

I read the links you posted and understand what visas you get for what job you have. However, my question was asking what the chances are for a foreignor to land a job, once he or she has obtained permanent residency, in a field other then that of which he or she has been working up until permanent residency. The links you have provided give information on the types of visas available to foreignors, depending on their occupation. However, this pertains to foreignors who go to Japan with jobs they hold from wherever they are from, not from within Japan. From what I have read, going to Japan and applying for a job with a visa doesn't get you a job, except for those jobs within Japan which are centered around hiring foreignors on working visas (such as teaching their native language within Japan, English primarily).

My plan is to get into Japan with teaching English as my ticket. Once I have permanent residency, I would like to look into making a career change. I have no desire to spend the rest of my life teaching English. I would like to do something else within Japan which does not pertain to English.

By the time I can apply for permanent residency, I will be fluent in Japanese. Hence my question asking what the chances are for someone who has come to Japan as a foreignor but obtained permanent residency, getting a job by applying to a Japanese company from within Japan. Not the latter - going to Japan with a high demanded foreignor job like teaching. Basically put, I want to work a job like any Japanese native, next to Japanese natives, once I've gotten permanent residency. A job which is worked primarily by Japanese natives. Not a job foreignor based. That is my dream. I am seeking information on whether or not this dream is realistic or not.

If someone knows, I'd greatly appreciate a response. I'm not just asking this question here. I'm also asking it on other forums so I can get an idea from several sources on whether or not my dream is entirely possible. Thank you in advance. If the way I worded my question before was not clear enough for you samoken, I apologize. I think this edit makes my question and intentions quite clear this time.

[Hatredcopter]

First of all, MMM was commenting about the guy above him (I think), not your remark.

Second, it's not really possible to gauge your "chances" on landing a job that doesn't involve English. It's not like there's a percent or something.

Here's the dilemma: while Japanese are not close-minded or anti-foreigner, if a Japanese employer has two job candidates with the same skills, one being a foreigner, and one being a Japanese person, they're likely to hire the Japanese person. That way there's no unknown expectations, no cultural differences to deal with, and is generally more worry-free for them.

So in order to have better chances to land a job, you need to go above and beyond with what skills and expertises you have. You have to have something that the Japanese candidate does not.

It also comes down to individual people. The HR guy at one company might be more open to foreigners than the HR guy at another company. The employer at one company might like the idea of making their company a little more 'diverse', while the employer at another company doesn't want to risk having to deal with any hassles.

Let it be said that it is indeed very possible for a foreigner to get into a job that doesn't involve English (or anything else "foreigner related) in Japan. I ran into several guys from the US, UK, and Australia who were working IT jobs in Japan (who made good salary and were happy with their jobs). I even met a Canadian truck driver in Japan. There's also a Finnish politician who is on the Diet (the Japanese government) - google Marutei Tsurunen if you want more information on that guy. I think its possible to do be hired for just about any job in Japan, but the odds are just a little bit tougher than they are in other countries.

I think the two most important things to work on to up your chances is to expand your skill set as much as possible, and to make networks and connections in Japan. The more people you know, the better chance you might have of finding a job opportunity. Though this probably isn't the definitive answer you're looking for, I think ultimately the chances of finding a good job all comes down to luck and being in the right place at the right time.

Hope that helps.

[samokan]

you don't need to wait to get a permanent residency to switch job/careers.

you just have to have to attitude of always giving 100% of your skill. Japanese companies always prefer a good working attitude.. putting work above everything else... their main motto is "always look busy"

[johnnyboydave]

Originally Posted by Hatredcopter

I think the two most important things to work on to up your chances is to expand your skill set as much as possible, and to make networks and connections in Japan. The more people you know, the better chance you might have of finding a job opportunity. Though this probably isn't the definitive answer you're looking for, I think ultimately the chances of finding a good job all comes down to luck and being in the right place at the right time.

Hope that helps.

This is EXACTLY the answer I was looking for. Thank you! That was all I needed to know. It is good to know with enough hard work towards adapting that I can eventually land a good job. I'd love the idea of working IT in Japan alongside Japanese natives with a company which has nothing to do with English.