Question How to get a visa for Japan but work for someone in USA?

hello! recently ive been really wanting to live in japan for a while, as im in love with the culture and am suprised by its afforadble items despite taxes, and so ive been learning japanese. I have a hobby as a software engineer and orginally i just wanted to visit japan because i didnt think i could make a living there because in japan software engineers only make around 12millon yen or 70k usd per year max. But, someone told me i could get a visa from the company or person i work for, and get paid in usd from the company but live all the way in japan. I was wondering how exactly to do this, and what you need to do in order to achieve my goal of living as a citizen in japan but getting paid in usd from america.

I'm too old for such a dream now , but I've always wondered if a person could work for L.L.Bean in the Japan locations. Their home office is here in Maine(USA) and I'm guessing there must be a few Americans working for them there. It might be worth contacting them if it's possible and what qualifications you would need. I'm guessing there are several US companies with branches in Japan ; might something worth checking on. The other idea I've had if younger is working on a US government base in Japan. Maybe they use military dependents , but no idea. Maybe another way to check out. Hopefully you will get some other better ideas , give it a few days for members to reply.

The obstacles, from what I know...

Visa--if you don't have a japan-based employer, how are you going to get a visa? It's illegal to work on a tourist visa, if you come as a student (for that visa) you need to get permission to work, and working for a foreign company may not be included in the permission given. If you got married quickly, you'd then have to sort out getting a spouse visa, which would include proving that the marriage was legit and not a visa tool. If you get a working visa, the job for that will be full time, and, like a student visa, you'd need to get permission (and your employer may not be cool with that).

Working for a foreign company would almost certainly need to be as a contractor. If you are an employee, then that company, by employing someone in japan, becomes liable/responsible for business taxes here--they have to either establish a legal presence (registration, taxes, etc), or use what is called an EoR, employer of record. That's a company here that acts on their behalf, employing you, and also doing the background necessities like pension, healthcare, tax reporting, an so on.

Japan does not have a visa/status of residence like some other countries around the world. Those other countries do accept/encourage digital nomads, or retirees, usually those folks supply some proof of assets or income, and those other countries allow them to stay and work. Not in japan.

lainiwakura said:

hello! recently ive been really wanting to live in japan for a while, as im in love with the culture and am suprised by its afforadble items despite taxes, and so ive been learning japanese. I have a hobby as a software engineer and orginally i just wanted to visit japan because i didnt think i could make a living there because in japan software engineers only make around 12millon yen or 70k usd per year max. But, someone told me i could get a visa from the company or person i work for, and get paid in usd from the company but live all the way in japan. I was wondering how exactly to do this, and what you need to do in order to achieve my goal of living as a citizen in japan but getting paid in usd from america.

Click to expand...

Just asking, have you been to Japan before? If so, how much time have you spent there?

I ask because sometimes places look amazing from far away or even during a short visit but once you have spent enough time there you start to see that its maybe not as amazing as you originally thought.

Hi ianiwakura and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you are trying to do something like what a BBC news correspondent in Japan does. A BBC correspondent in Japan works for a foreign company (BBC in England) which is not a Japanese company, yet the person lives in Japan, has a regular (not temporary) visa to live in Japan, and gets paid in money from England. It sounds like you want to do the same thing. I know the IBM Computer Company has an office in Japan and maybe they have the same type of arrangement with foreign employees. (I used to walk past the IBM office in Tokyo every morning on my way to work.)

This BBC situation is a very, very unusual situation and I think it would be very, very difficult for you to find a similar setup in Japan. The only thing you can do is look around and try to find a company in Japan (or in a foreign country) that would allow such a setup. I am quite sure no one here on this forum knows of any company that would hire you in this way. Just keep looking. Good luck.

Buntaro said:

Hi ianiwakura and welcome to the forum.

It sounds like you are trying to do something like what a BBC news correspondent in Japan does. A BBC correspondent in Japan works for a foreign company (BBC in England) which is not a Japanese company, yet the person lives in Japan, has a regular (not temporary) visa to live in Japan, and gets paid in money from England. It sounds like you want to do the same thing. I know the IBM Computer Company has an office in Japan and maybe they have the same type of arrangement with foreign employees. (I used to walk past the IBM office in Tokyo every morning on my way to work.)

This BBC situation is a very, very unusual situation and I think it would be very, very difficult for you to find a similar setup in Japan. The only thing you can do is look around and try to find a company in Japan (or in a foreign country) that would allow such a setup. I am quite sure no one here on this forum knows of any company that would hire you in this way. Just keep looking. Good luck.

Click to expand...

I always figured that the permanent correspondents worked for a "local" branch of the company.

It does look like they have a presence in Japan:

BBC Studios Japan Ltd
Tokyo Club Building 10F
3-2-6 Kasumigaseki, Chiyoda-ku,
Tokyo 100-0013 Japan


Edit:

There also seems to be a special "Journalist" visa that allows reporting/journalistic work in Japan: Guide for reporting in Japan | 公益財団法人フォーリン・プレスセンター（FPCJ）

Have you worked professionally as a software engineer? What is your degree in?
If you are really a software engineer this should be possible. Contact some recruiters that specialize in filling positions in Japan.
They may or may not pay you in USD but if the position is important enough to fill with somebody from overseas, they should give you some decent compensation.
In my case which was almost 30 years ago I was hired as a "local" even though I was in the U.S. before they flew me over. I got paid in JPY but I also got my rent of Y150,000/month paid by the company. So I was a cross between an expat and local. In those days the yen was strong so I was happy to get paid in JPY.