Academic jobs

[CB]

[Charles]

You should be aware that Japanese Economics isn't the same as Economics. I remember going to a Japanese job fair in Boston back around '98, the Nihon Keizai Shinbun had a sign up (in kanji only, of course) offering interviews only to native Japanese PhD economics graduates of Harvard. Well jeez, why didn't they just call Harvard and directly contact the 1 or 2 people who qualified?

If I were in your position, I would probably start by looking into Japanese universities with prominent Econ departments (i.e. Todai), search their websites, maybe try to develop a contact there who can offer guidance. Or maybe the Ministry of Finance would be a good place to look around. You really need to develop contacts to get a "madoguchi" into a serious organization, like your friend did.

[kamome]

I don't know much about academic jobs, but I think it would be wise to ask colleagues in your field whether taking a job at a J-university would be looked upon favorably within the U.S. academic community. In other words, will your future job prospects in the U.S. be improved or impaired by having been employed at a J-uni? I point this out because the U.S. market does not always look kindly on people who have taken positions abroad immediately after graduating with a degree. It can be a positive in the IT field, but not in certain other professions, like law, accounting, etc., especially since Japan has fallen out of vogue and been replaced by China as the "in" Asian country of the moment.

[CB]

[Charles]