As the title suggests, I am half-Japanese with dual citizenship in both Japan and the United States. After a string of unsuccessful attempts at landing work here, I found myself in an unemployment rut.
My mother, who is Japanese, suggested I move to Tokyo to live with my aunt and find a job there. My barber (Japanese salon in my town) suggested I do the same thing. He jokingly said that if he were to see me working at Haneda or Narita, he’d feel reassured that I could help him lol.
**Background**: My Japanese language skills are decent at best. I don’t have an accent and have regularly been asked by Japanese people if I’ve ever lived in Japan because of my Japanese. I can hold a casual conversation well, but I’m utterly lost beyond that. Can’t talk news, politics, economics, etc. My kanji is awful — I’m tapped out at a kindergarten level.
My cousins in Japan have said that out of my 3 siblings, I’m “the most Japanese” of the bunch and could easily integrate into Japanese society whereas my siblings are super Americanized and would struggle. My aunt has said she’d love to have me live with her and always wanted to have us closer to her in Japan.
**Skillset and Work Experience:** I only have an Associate’s degree in Liberal Arts. I’ve always wanted to pursue formal training in illustration, but that’s a distant dream for now.
I’ve worked in sushi restaurants my entire life. My current gig is head waiter at a mom & pop sushi restaurant in my town.
**The problem:** I have no idea if I’m at all able to land a job in Japan. Considering the competition, I feel as though I’d be unemployed there as I am here in America. Furthermore, I have credit card debt that I’ve struggled to stay on top of. This is because of a long chapter of unemployment and difficulty finding a job in America.
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Would moving to Japan be a gamble for someone like me? What can I do to prepare myself to land a job? What types of jobs would be open to me if I were to transplant to Japan?
by _bentobox666_