I am US military stationed in Tokyo. I have lived here since 2022 and my assignment here is until 2025. My problem is that I’ve fallen in love with Japan and I do not want to go back to the US. I feel like three years in Japan is not enough for me and I want to stay here longer (although I don’t know for how long). Thus, I am trying to figure out the best way for me to stay in Japan. The current setup I have is perfect: I work as a US pharmacist and make a US pharmacist salary, I live in a standalone house in Tokyo (huge by Japan standards) near the Chuo and Ome Line which makes it easy to travel anywhere, I get 30 days of leave/PTO per year plus all Federal holidays off plus extra days off as rewards for various things, I get to practice pharmacy while also doing fun/cool/adventurous military things, and to top it all off I get to do all that while serving a purpose greater than myself that I believe in (mostly). Unfortunately, with the way the military works it cannot last forever. So the main hurdle I need to figure out is what kind of job I should get, how to get it, and how to best steer my career. Since I am a pharmacist by trade, a job in which I can use that skillset so it doesn’t deteriorate while maintaining a high-ish salary would be ideal (>$60-80k annually, which is even low for a pharmacist but that’s enough for me to care about earning). I am not totally committed to the pharmacy career field (while I am grateful to have such a lucrative and secure job I find it boring and unfulfilling), but it might be the only way for me to maintain my current salary, and if I get a non-pharmacy related job it might be difficult for me to go back later. Some options I’ve thought of so far:
1. Find a US-based remote job that will let me work from Japan. I feel like this would be the most ideal option, but I don’t know if I will be able to find a US employer that would be willing to let me work internationally, especially as a pharmacist. Maybe I could find another medical-related, non-pharmacist remote job, but the salary would likely be significantly less (although it still might be higher than a regular Japanese salary). I also don’t know if this is something I could permanently do for the rest of my working life. As far as visa/immigration, I have a Japanese girlfriend that I might be marrying in the future so that’s not an issue I’m concerned about right now. I’m also interested in transferring to the US Military Reserves, so a remote job would complement this well as I could get USERRA benefits and maintain access to US military bases in Japan.
2. Try to get assigned to another military base in Japan after this assignment is up. The problem with this is while it buys me a few more years in Japan, I will be in the same situation I am now in another few years. However, this would allow me to take more advantage of some benefits the military offers, one of which is a Masters Degree program in International Relations that the military pays for. I could then use this Masters Degree to help me find another job that might help me stay in Japan. In addition, if I get another assignment I will be likely be placed in a higher level of command, which would help me in terms of overall career progression and probably job competitiveness as well.
3. Try to find a regular civilian job in Japan. I am really trying to avoid this option for the reasons we all know (poor work culture, long hours, poor treatment of foreigners, and low salary and high taxes to top it all off, etc). Compared to the other options, this would likely make it a lot harder for me to travel as well, which is something I’d like to do if possible. It’d also be nice to be able to visit my family in the US on occasion, which would likely be difficult with a regular Japanese job.
These three are the only paths I can think of so far; if you can think of any others please educate me. I have some big life choices to make soon so I would be very grateful to hear any input or ideas!