Getting to Japan?

[sat0shi]

Hi everyone, I just found this website on a whim and I think I can find some answers that I have been looking for here. If you wanna know a little bit about me, I am currently 21 years old, graduating college in May of this year with a degree in Modern Languages Japanese and a minor in Computer Science. I recently got engaged to a Japanese citizen who is currently residing in Japan (whom I met 2 years ago when she studied abroad at my university) and I am planning to get married maybe sometime around this December in Japan.

Backing up a bit, I studied abroad at Nagoya University of Foreign Studies from May of 2004 to Jan. 2005, and my Japanese improved a lot while I was there. I took the level 1 of the JLPT this past December, and I am awaiting my results. I am pretty confident that I passed, of course you never really can tell on those tests. As for work experience I have been professionally translating as a freelancer for the past year. I have worked on a large-scale game project (Kingdom of Paradise for PSP) and a couple strategy guides, along with a few private individual clients.

Now, to my question. I am looking to move to Japan as soon as I graduate this May. However, I am aware of the various visa problems which may impede this process. I really really would like to get a job before I go to Japan so that I don't have to worry about my visa situation or finding a job when I get there. However I really don't want to teach English. I could if absolutely necessary but it's not what I really want to do.

I would like to either A) Enter a computer company and work as a computer programmer or B) Enter a translation company and work as a translator in a Japanese company. Preferrably one with decent benefits and the such. Is there any way out there that I can possibly land a job with one of these companies before going to Japan?

I am relatively confident in my Japanese ability, and my Japanese advisor/teacher at my university said I would have no problem there. What is everyone else's experience here? Is getting a visa really that big of a pain? Thanks for reading such a long post, and I look forward to your reply. <edited with paragraphs to make it easier to read.. >

-Brandon "Satoshi" Wood

[GomiGirl]

Try some of the on-line recruiting specialising in bi-lingual IT professionals.

eg Career Cross

There are a few others around. Let google be your friend.

Good luck.

[maninjapan]

Nice to meet you hope you enjoy the debauchery on this site ie poop and shite.

[sat0shi]

I checked on Career Cross but it seems almost all of the jobs require you to have a visa already... I am just looking for SOME way to get in the country. Maybe I just have to talk my fiancee into getting married early..

[maninjapan]

Why not - this may sound stupid - get a working holiday visa and then when you get the job get them to sponsor you and get a new visa.

[drpepper]

Why not - this may sound stupid - get a working holiday visa and then when you get the job get them to sponsor you and get a new visa.

Well that would assume that he is in one of those countries that offer those for Japan, i.e. not the U.S.A.

[maninjapan]

Well that would assume that he is in one of those countries that offer those for Japan, i.e. not the U.S.A.

See I didn't know that.

[kamome]

I think if you get recruited in the US by a Japanese company, they will take care of your visa before you enter the country. There are job fairs in the US for the purpose of hiring Americans into Japanese companies, and those companies will be willing to take on the burden of procuring your visa in order to get someone with your skill set to work for them.

Personally, I would recommend that you NOT go that route (i.e., you should work in the US first before running to Japan), but since you're marrying a Japanese girl, you may not have a choice.

[Charles]

There are job fairs in the US for the purpose of hiring Americans into Japanese companies...

Not really. Those job fairs are targeted at hiring nihonjin new graduates from American universities. I attended a fair in Boston, I recall seeing an empty booth for the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, it had a sign (in Japanese of course) stating "Interviewing only nihonjin graduates of Harvard with PhDs in Economics." Good luck with that, I suspect there may be YEARS between eligible candidates.
Suffice to say, do not bother attending these job fairs unless you have arranged interviews well in advance.

[kamome]

Not really. Those job fairs are targeted at hiring nihonjin new graduates from American universities. I attended a fair in Boston, I recall seeing an empty booth for the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, it had a sign (in Japanese of course) stating "Interviewing only nihonjin graduates of Harvard with PhDs in Economics." Good luck with that, I suspect there may be YEARS between eligible candidates.
Suffice to say, do not bother attending these job fairs unless you have arranged interviews well in advance.

Charles, you're wrong. I attended that exact same job fair in Boston and was hired by a company in Japan. You are right that MOST of the candidates are Japanese grads of US universities, but if you have good language skills plus a degree from a good school, many companies will look at you. I got several offers from different companies. The guy who started this thread obviously has a strong Japanese background and could probably get past the interviews and exams that they put you through at the fair.

Like I said, I don't advise people to go this route. It's risky and can put you on the wrong career path.