Art jobs in Japan

Hi!

I've been questionning myself since a couple of months about trying my luck in Japan. I've got a good artistical background as professionnal animator and illustrator. And I'm also fluent in English and French, and have a good conversationnal Japanese.

I was wondering what could be the best move for me. I know it's hard to prospect companies if I'm not already in Japan, and it's even harder to get a working visa without having a company to sponsor it. Vicious circle >__< I'm not too picky about the type of job, as long as it involves visual arts. Have any ideas??

This sounds like a really nice challenge though. I've been to Japan once and felt in love. I would so love a longer stay there!

Thanks in advance!

you may want to enter under another visa, for example get a teaching position that does not have many hours, maybe part time or something, (i don't know about the restrictions on any of that though), something where you would have the time to go out and look for an illustration job, or freelance or something, and kind of go from there.

Also, you may be able to get an assistant teaching job with art classes at a high school, that would give you time and supplies for some studio work, while getting you in touch with people that might be able to help you with finding different jobs in the art field.

Numark said:

Also, you may be able to get an assistant teaching job with art classes at a high school

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What do you base that on?

Tokyo Art Beat

I'm Canadian, and I got here with a working-holiday visa. It was a good choice, because it is very complicated when you get hear with a working visa. Sometimes you don't work until a month or two after you have arrived. I began work imediately. Once you have a stable job, you can ask if they will support a working visa. The workin-holiday is good for only a year. So to get youself up and on your feet with a roof over your head and cash on the side, it takes about 3 months. During that time, you can be researching and investigating possible schools or art outlets. But I am also and artist, and I warn you that you should do most of your research in Canada, because once you get here, almost everything is in Japanese. Though, with a good internet connection and a friend to help you translate, you will be able to find the job you dream of. Gambate! Also, remember that with a workin-holiday visa, if you end up signing a year's contact after three month's in Japan, you may not fulfill that contract unless you get a working visa through that company, such that your current visa will expire in 9 months. It is a little complicated. You have to really be motivated, and prepared to find work in your field imediately. Here is a link to universities in Japan.TOOL-BOX: Japanese Universities: A-F
and what's happening in art in Tokyo 東京アートビート - Tokyo Art Beat - デザイン／アートスペース

Good luck!

Numark said:

you may want to enter under another visa, for example get a teaching position that does not have many hours, maybe part time or something

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Not likely. Employers can't sponsor a visa for part-time work.

However the idea of a non-art job visa is sensible.
Working holiday visa.
Regular work visa (to teach). JET Programme has the best hours to leave your evenings free. Conversation schools (eikaiwas) usually have classes from noon to 9pm, so your mornings are relatively free, and newbies often get split weekends (Sun/Tues, for example), so that opens up some time.

Also, you may be able to get an assistant teaching job with art classes at a high school

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I second Mike Cash's question.

One additional heads up. Make a professional portfolio. You will be nothing without it. Oh, and start learning Japanese yesterday. I don't see how you could negotiate contracts without it.

I know it's hard to prospect companies if I'm not already in Japan, and it's even harder to get a working visa without having a company to sponsor it. Vicious circle >__<

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Second time this week I've had to say this. There is no vicious circle or Catch 22. You find an employer who is willing to sponsor a visa. Period. That is step one. After that, you apply for the visa.

Here's a couple of starting points for that visa application.
http://www.moj.go.jp/ONLINE/IMMIGRATION/16-1-1.pdf (scroll down for the Artist form)
VISA (read at LEAST sections III, IV, and IV and Appendix I)
The Working Holiday Programmes in Japan (working holiday visa)

Mike Cash said:

What do you base that on?

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well its really just conjecture... so I base it on nothing? I was just trying to stir up some examples... maybe I'm a wishful thinker but I feel like if you got an english job at a high school they might let you help out with art classes when you have time during, before, or after school, if you were skilled in that area. But maybe there is more restrictions on that than i know.

Numark,
Wishful and positive thinking are admirable, but the positive hopeful thought you espoused is just not based in reality. Take it from someone who knows teaching here for 10 years.

I don't think helping out in art class is impossible. Especially if you have time left over, which you really have at some schools. I work at elementary schools and sometimes only have 4 periods, if I want to I can check some classes, and help out if it is needed.

The change is not big, but I would not say it's impossible.

Conjecture has it's place and I am far from being against. But it should be presented in wording that makes it clear it is conjecture.

Mike Cash said:

Conjecture has it's place and I am far from being against. But it should be presented in wording that makes it clear it is conjecture.

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I agree, but this is also a forum not a thesis paper, I was offering up possibilities, not saying that I know for a fact such positions are available. I would not assume that anyone would start planning their move to Japan off of a sentence from a forum without checking things out for themselves.

The problem is that the net is full of people who are less than stellar when it comes to critical reading/thinking skills. Your original comment was not worded as a factual statement, so I really don't find too much fault with it. But there are people out there who would read it to mean that such an option is indeed possible and just operate on the assumption that it was a fact and not a suggestion for an avenue to investigate. Then stuff gets passed around second-hand and third-hand until it becomes accepted as an ossified fact. Surely when you were a kid you must have played the old game of "Telegraph" or "Whispers" where you whisper a message to the next person who whispers it to the next person and on down the line? At the end you check to see how much the original message has diverged from what it was when it started. Same phenomenon happens on the internet. And that feeds the never-ending stream of people asking questions based on faulty "facts" they have heard about Japan and the never-ending task of trying to answer them. It's like shoveling sh*t uphill. So for those who don't read carefully to begin with and the downstream word-of-mouth recipients of conjecture mistaken as fact, it is better and more responsible to make it abundantly and unmistakably clear at the time of posting whether a statement is fact or conjecture. Sadly, on the net it is sometimes necessary to write for the lowest common denominator.

I've always known the game as broken telephone... hehe... I agree... too many rumors are taken as fact. It made me think that I should mention also that before coming to Japan, I studied Japanese and taught Japanese students for a year, on top of getting my TESL certificate... I also have a college diploma and a university degree... so my credentials and experience was what got me on my feet so quickle... 3 months... and it was not at all easy. Especially cus I was funding myself on the $2,500 cash I had prepared to get here... which was barely enough before getting my first pay check 2 and a half months later.

In other words: "Be fully prepared before coming"

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