Hi, I’m a 17 year old from Australia with a passion for dance and singing. I have also had an interest in Japan for many years and have been studying the language for 3 years at school. My current hopes are to live and work in Japan in the future. I am hoping to go to language school for 2 years in Japan then go to a vocational school for 2 years such as Tokyo School of Music and Dance.
I can’t find a lot of information on this specific pathway online so I have come here to ask some questions. I believe I can get a student visa for a vocational school, is this correct? I’m also wondering if there’s any chance of me finding employment in Japan after I finish my course? I feel like companies hiring in the performing arts would be less likely to sponsor a visa for a foreigner and it’s already a career pathway known for being hard to get far in.
I would really appreciate anyone who could answer my questions or supply any other relevant information. Thanks!
1 comment
I suppose it would be a good idea to ask yourself which you care about more, living in Japan long term or going straight for a career in dance.
First of all, the work visa you might apply for for dance related work would be a much higher difficulty level than a typical white collar work visa. Unless you are able to secure guaranteed full time work in dance shortly after your course is over, it might not be possible.
Second of all, a vocational diploma would not give you much flexibility in the type of work you could pursue in Japan. If you are not successful getting full time pro dance work starting right after graduation, it’s not like you could fall back on English teaching or any other jobs, because you would be unable to qualify for a work visa for those jobs, so you would basically just have to leave Japan.
If your priority is pursuing dance work professionally, then I suppose be prepared to have to leave Japan after completing your course. If your priority is living in Japan long term, then you would be better off obtaining a university degree so that you can qualify for a white collar work visa to have an immediate fallback, even if that is not your long-term goal.