Moving to Japan.

[kitty_scot]

Hi there, i'm looking for some practical advice. I work as a biomedical scientist in the UK and I have a post graduate diploma in public health. I want to move to Japan permanently. I speak conversational Japanese and can read at a basic level. I could potentially be fluent in a year.

Is it feasible to find work in my current line of work in Japan? or would i be better off looking for remote work such as tutoring? I am nearly 40, is that too old to find work in Japan?
Any useful tips or advice would be gratefully received.

 

[Majestic]

Highly doubtful that you could obtain a work visa for Japan using your specialty unless you can speak Japanese fluently. You may be able to obtain a work visa for something like English teaching, which many people do, and potentially use that experience to make connections that will enable employment outside of English teaching. One long shot for you would be to try to get employed at a Japanese corporation in the UK that is involved in areas of public health (pharmaceuticals, etc.) and see if they will entertain the idea of transferring you to Japan on an intra-company transferee visa.
English teaching is sort of the low barrier-to-entry way of getting into Japan, but it can be a trap.
Public health is not my specialty, but if your qualifications make you attractive to a Japanese pharmaceutical company, that could be one possible route to living in Japan.
As a long, long shot (but maybe not that long... I don't know the industry that well) you might try contacting LinkedIn recruiters in Japan to see if they can help place you in a Japanese company. I have heard that Japan is experiencing a labor shortage, so maybe your conversational Japanese is enough to make you sufficiently attractive for a Japanese healthcare company to go to the effort of getting you a visa and hiring you.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

Have you ever lived overseas before? Culture shock is real, and many people who go to Japan find they really don't like it when they actually live there.

Having said that, I agree that you need to improve your Japanese skill and try to find employment before trying to move there. Does your city have a sister city relationship with a city in Japan? That might be an easy way to start making connections.

 

[kitty_scot]

Highly doubtful that you could obtain a work visa for Japan using your specialty unless you can speak Japanese fluently. You may be able to obtain a work visa for something like English teaching, which many people do, and potentially use that experience to make connections that will enable employment outside of English teaching. One long shot for you would be to try to get employed at a Japanese corporation in the UK that is involved in areas of public health (pharmaceuticals, etc.) and see if they will entertain the idea of transferring you to Japan on an intra-company transferee visa.
English teaching is sort of the low barrier-to-entry way of getting into Japan, but it can be a trap.
Public health is not my specialty, but if your qualifications make you attractive to a Japanese pharmaceutical company, that could be one possible route to living in Japan.
As a long, long shot (but maybe not that long... I don't know the industry that well) you might try contacting LinkedIn recruiters in Japan to see if they can help place you in a Japanese company. I have heard that Japan is experiencing a labor shortage, so maybe your conversational Japanese is enough to make you sufficiently attractive for a Japanese healthcare company to go to the effort of getting you a visa and hiring you.

Thank you, thats what i was thinking. I have an option to take a job in a pharmaceutical company that contacted me and transfer in two years. i was more worried my age might count against me. Teaching english is an option but i think i would be mad to take such a pay cut. I will wait out the two years and use it to get more fluent. thanks again.

 

[kitty_scot]

Have you ever lived overseas before? Culture shock is real, and many people who go to Japan find they really don't like it when they actually live there.

Having said that, I agree that you need to improve your Japanese skill and try to find employment before trying to move there. Does your city have a sister city relationship with a city in Japan? That might be an easy way to start making connections.

Hey, i've lived abroad twice now and visited Japan many times. It's definitely somewhere i'd like to live. But yeah i should improve my skills before i go. Thanks