I want to move and work in Japan for ever.

[Mega]

Hello guys.
My name is Costy, I'm from Romania and from a long time I have a big dream. The dream to move in Japan and work there.
Probably you already have seen more topics with this title, but I serached a lot on Google about how to move in Japan and I'm still very confuse.
Well, I'm 16 years old and I want to move in Japan from long time. Many people like Japan and want to move there because of "animes". Well I'm not like others and want to move there just for that. I really like the people from there, culture, respect. A really good country.
And I want to move there and work all life but I'm discouraged sometimes because if I tell someone about this he start to laugh Also I don't know how I should start. I learn Japanese right now. I'm at Hiragana (Na). My plans was (are) like: Finish High School, go to University at English-Japanese (in Romania), and then try to move in Japan and work as translator. (Yea, this is like how a teen is think lol)
Well, now I don't know what to do. I heard you need to make University in Japan to work. I'm really confuse. Don't suggest me to make University in Japan after I finish high school because I don't have money, and I'm not really good at study.
So I wanna be translator. How I should start? Okay, I will finish High School and finish baccalaureate. And then? What I need to move in Japan? It's there some things I need to do? If I can't be translator, what other job can I have? Please reply guys. This is my dream and if I can't go in Japan then I really don't want nothing from life...

 

[Mike Cash]

You will need a high level of Japanese, including reading, but that alone is not enough. You should also have some knowledge or expertise in the field(s) you intend to translate. Finance, IT, patent, engineering, et cetera.

Good luck.

 

[Petaris]

Might I suggest that you also start saving up money and take a short trip to Japan. Even with a short trip being vastly different from living there it would still help to give you a better idea of what life may be like there.

If that trip goes well and you are still interested then go on with your plan and we will be here to help with questions along the way, and the other things you need to think about like visa eligibility.

 

[tokkyo]

I am a full-time translator at a firm in silicon valley, so I can give you some advice.
As machine translation gets better, and companies become better at post-editing and crowd-sourcing (wiki it), wages will continue to fall, as they have been for some time, for all translators unless they have knowledge in a field which does not lend itself to such techniques. Basically, these are fields where even a small mistake in translation is unacceptable and a professional translator is needed, for example the legal, medical, and scientific fields.

Honestly my advice would be to study science or engineering or something along those lines in university, if you are really serious about becoming a translator. Companies and agencies strongly prefer engineers or scientists who have taught themselves to translate, rather than translators who have taught themselves engineering or science (I'm saying this as someone who comes from a strong liberal arts background, as most translators do). And if translation doesn't work out, you would still be very much in demand elsewhere with a degree like that.

I translate Japanese patents into English for my job, that's all I do everyday. It's not the most exciting work, but it pays very well. BUT, you have to factor in that it took me 10 years of studying Japanese on a constant basis to get to this level, and no one paid me to study Japanese during those 10 years..so keep in mind the initial investment of time you need is extraordinary, and even then the pay probably won't be as good as someone who spent those 10 years getting an MBA + work experience or getting technical qualifications in something (I know it's not all about money, but just so you know). Also keep in mind, I'm talking about the Japanese -> English translation market, there is virtually no Japanese -> Romanian translation market, which means you will need near-native English in addition to near-native Japanese. I'm not going to say it's impossible, but please have a backup plan.

tl;dr
-Study a technical field in university
-Study Japanese and English every day, start today
-Have a backup plan

 

[zoomingjapan]

IT specialists and engineering is always something a foreigner can do here in Japan as long as you have the necessary qualifications.
Some work as translators, models, voice actors etc.

The majority of foreigners in Japan, however, (at least the non-Asian ones) work as English teacher.
In order to obtain a work visa you should hold a passport of an English speaking country and have at least a BA / BS degree.

As you're from Romania, it might be more complicated, but not impossible.
I'm not sure if you're country offers a Working Holiday Visa for Japan? That would be another option.

To give you an idea how a fellow Europen made it to Japan many years ago, you can read this article.

Good luck!

 

[BrianLewis]

From the personal stories of people that I have met, the most successful stories involve missionary work. The majority of these stories end up with the missionary/student getting a job at a major corporation translating documents or interpreting for their employers. However, most of these success stories are over 15 years old, when Japan had a bubble economy and the language was studied less often.

The above poster had some helpful information regarding succeeding as a translator. I would like to add that if you can reach fluency in a 3rd language that is in demand, your likely to be in demand. I don't know how in demand Romanian can be in Japan. You would likely find a job in Romania doing business with Japan instead.

I have seen quite a bit of young individuals that get a grand image about life in Japan. My advice to you would be to get more experience in that matter before deciding to live over there. The real Japan is nothing like the image people have before they get there. Also keep in mind that the Japanese language is extremely popular right now and your going to have to spend 7-10 years of studying the language just to compete with the hoards. That doesn't mean it's wrong to want that, it just means your effort is probably going to be extremely unappreciated.

 

[Haruspex]

Alright, so I've never worked in Japan. I've never even been there. I haven't been to the preponderance of this fine planet's countries, yet, to me, it seems quite apparent that in any country you will need the skills and education that the labour market demands of people, should they wish to take up employment. Sure, you might be faced with prejudice in some countries and they might not employ you, but if you lack the credentials you are all the more likely to end up in a cardboard box with a hat that's curiously not on your head.

It's been stated (impliedly and expressly) above that you'll have to study. In my view the best way to go about it is to be an autodidact. Most high schools the world over are absolutely horrid and they impart no relevant knowledge if you plan on doing anything more complex than collecting cigarette butts for a living. As tokkyo impliedly stated, you will have a hard time contending with natives in the field of humanities and allied disciplines. I am yet to hear of a country 'importing' teachers to teach its native language and literature, or of a country recruiting public servants from abroad. It doesn't really happen. I'm not saying anything new, people before me stated this: map the paths of commerce. If a lot of **** is getting sold by a dude in one country to another dude in another country, it means there's jobs there for people who are familiar with both countries, their legal systems, their languages, economies, customs, know the right golf courses, clubs and massage parlours or whatever.