Hello everyone, I am an American who is intending to apply for the JET Program this fall. I have my BA in Japanese and international business, two years of business admin experience, and I was even lucky enough to complete 3 study abroad programs in Japan before the pandemic so I have experience living, working, and studying in Japan. When I graduated 2 years ago I was JLPT3 progressing to JLPT2, and I am taking the JLPT this December to get an official certificate.
I think I could put forward a strong application, but I am very worried about how my 2 cats would factor in to everything. I have heard of JETs having pets but I don’t know how they handled it. I have no idea how and at what time they disclosed their pets to JET, what accommodations they needed and how they received them, etc. I am aware that the process for getting the necessary paperwork for cats is lengthy and will need to be started sooner rather than later, but that’s all I know.
Let me be clear: I will never abandon my cats, they are like family and I understand that I am responsible for ensuring that they receive the best care. That being said, since I am seriously considering JET for my next major career move, I want to know as much as possible to make the best decision for myself/my cats and not screw over JET if the cats preclude me from participating.
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Do you have family member or friend that can take care of your cats? I knew a JET who had a friend take care of their cat while they were in Japan. This JET only did the program for 2 years (planned from the start). I think they faced time the friend from time to time to check in with their cat. They got their cat back as soon as they return to their home country.
If you’re planning on going this route you’ll probably be expected to handle the entire process on your end without JET assistance.
Please also be aware that it may be very very stressful on your cats as they may be forced to quarantine for up to 180 days if they don’t meet all the requirements by the Japanese government. Also I urge you to look into how each airline handles animal transportation. I can’t confirm personally, but I’ve heard of many horror stories where animals have frozen to death in the cargo hold of airplanes, not received sufficient care, etc etc.
As for importing cats specifically to Japan, I’ve found this document that seems to outline the whole process! I hope it’s helpful! https://www.maff.go.jp/aqs/animal/dog/attach/pdf/import-other-42.pdf
You won’t be able to bring your pets with you to Japan when you leave, you will need to have someone bring them to you at a later time. JET doesn’t give you enough tike in the airport to handle this and the hotels don’t allow people to have pets with them.
Durring the time you are waiting for your cats to come over you should sort out living arrangements that allow for pets, it will be tough as most housing doesn’t allow pets. Good luck.
Someone posted the maff website. That is the only website that you need to follow as far as legal procedures go for importing. It is the official government website for importing and exporting for Japan.
Additionally for exporting the US will have its own requirements so you will need to follow those as well.
It’s possible to do JET with pets.
No one can tell you how easy, hard, or even possible it will be for you.
It depends on your placement, the people around you, and your own resourcefulness.
I brought my dog as a JET and I did everything by myself because that was my only option. I know someone who inherited a pet friendly apartment, another person who hid their pet until the very last minute and then forced their BoE to accept it, and another person whose BoE helped them find a pet friendly place.
I can tell you that finding a place that allows two cats is going to be very difficult. Depending on your placement there may not be any options for you. You may also have it written into your work contract that you can’t have pets (legally not enforceable but it gives you an idea of how your employer feels about it).
I told my supervisor in the initial email that I was bringing a dog and had already been in touch with apartment managers in the area. This worked out for me because I could speak Japanese and I got my placement early so I could spend time looking.
No one can tell you how it will go for you. I strongly recommend having a plan B and C for if things go sideways and you need to make some hard decisions.
I’m sure you’ve already looked into the legal parts and know how stressful moving pet from one country to another is so I’ll skip toward.
Your outcome will completely depend on how good of a candidate they think you are, where you are placed, and your willingness to pay premiums for having a pet.
– if they are considering you or someone else and the other person doesn’t have pets, they will more than likely pick them.
– depending on your city or town it might be near impossible to get the BOE or an apartment agree to a pet (let alone two).
– expect to be on your own for housing. Usually (not always) JET/BOE help set you up. But if they have a dedicated place for JETS and you bring pets, you might not be able to live there. In that case, if the BOE is irregularly nice, they might try to accommodate you. But more than likely they will say that you need to find your own living arrangements. Rent for pet owners is anywhere from 1.5-2.5x the normal rate. That’s just for one pet. You want to bring two cats. So expect the premiums to be on the higher end. You might also be expected to get insurance that covers pet damage since the apartment will not trust that your cats won’t scratch the walls or leave damage of some sort. Apartments tend to be more dog than cat friendly. Last point, some apartments have a hard one pet limit.
I know you are attached to your cats, but if you really only plan to be here for 1-2 years, I’d suggest asking someone to take care of the cats. Putting them through the stress and going through poverty and hardships to bring them here isn’t worth it. In the end it’s entirely up to you, but usually the only people who bring pets are those who plan on being here for an extended amount of time or plan to become full on expats.
Last note:
You will not being able to bring them with you at first. Your plane ticket does not cover pets and they will not allow them on the initial flight anyways. You are required to stay at a hotel and do JET training. They will not allow you to bring the cats to this event. You’ll have to leave them behind at first or forward them to someone else (you know in Japan) while you do your training.
If you search this subreddit, you can find a lot of threads on the topic. The basic takeaway it’s that it’s possible, but probably not the best idea in the majority of situations.
You’ll have to handle all of the paperwork on your own. I’m not familiar with the specifics, but I think the paperwork is the easiest part.
From there you’ll have to inform your CO about your pet ahead of time. You most likely will not be allowed to live in the apartment they were going to provide for you. You will be entirely in charge of finding an apartment on your own. Your BOE likely will not help you with this. If you’re not in a major city, you can expect there to be no English speaking real estate agents. You’ll have a hard time finding an apartment since a lot of places don’t allow foreigners and a lot of places don’t allow pets. Places that accept foreigners with pets exist, but you’ll have to do some digging. You’ll also be in charge of paying all the fees associated with moving into a new apartment; deposit, key money, guarantor fee. These fees can go as high as 4 months rent, so make sure you have a lot saved up.
You won’t be able to bring your cats on the plane with you when you come to Japan. Basically when you fly in with JET you’re shepherded through the airport and there isn’t time to do pet immigration stuff. The hotel you stay in during orientation also doesn’t allow pets. You’ll have to have a friend/family member fly with them later after you arrive and then go collect them at the airport. Japan isn’t currently issuing tourist visas which makes this set up impossible now, but hopefully that will have changed by the time you would be coming over.
I’ve heard most pet enthusiasts agree that long haul flights are pretty traumatic for your animals and not something to be taken lightly. If you’re planning a permanent move to Japan then it can be worth it to being your pets, but if you only plan to be here for a year or two, it’s not worth putting them under that kind of stress twice in two years.
I think the main points are that you will not be allowed to use the BOE housing and it is a very expensive and slow process. If you are willing to do that, then fine.
I wouldn’t bother telling them until you get on the programme. Your BOE will contact you and ask you if you want their provided housing. Just say no. You may have to shack up in an AirBnb until you find a place. It is notoriously difficult for foreigners.