Re-posting following mod rules.
After living in Tokyo for half a year, I think IT workers must be the most common type of foreigner, at least in the Tokyo area. Before moving to Japan, I thought most foreigners were JETs or ALTs cause of internet comments, but I’ve only crossed paths with three so far.
Out of the like 50+ Americans I’ve met outside of work, 90%+ of Americans had some sort of technical job: software engineer, mechanical engineer, process engineer, solar power worker, financial analyst, defense industry consultant.
It’s becoming a pattern that when I go to a in-person social meetup, the first two questions foreigners ask me are:
> “Are you Japanese?”
> I’m American Chinese.
> “Oh, so you’re also an engineer from California?”
> Yea.
And then we end up talking about work.
What do you guys think? Has there been a shift in the type of foreigner who lives and works in Japan?
4 comments
JETs are more likely to complain about their lives and ask how to divorce their j-wives, so you’re more likely to see them on the internet.
In the last couple of years there’s definitely been a sizable number of expats who come to work in IT/tech jobs in Japan. I’m not completely sure as to *why*, since the vast majority of them could get at least twice as much money if they stayed in the US, but I guess the answer is just “Japan” as usual.
Most of the non-Japanese I know don’t talk about what their work involves; they’ll mention *where* they work, but that’s about it. My impression is most of them work in traditional white collar (not tech-related jobs). A bunch of people I know work in restaurants, too. I don’t know a non-Japanese soul who works in IT or as an engineer.
Tech, Teacher or Recruiter.
About 85% of foreigners in Japan are actually from Asia based on govt stats. While some maybe be on JET or ALT, I think we can safely assume most aren’t. So you are kinda right.
If you look at the breakdown of visa types (ignoring dependent, students, and PRs), seems like technician visas are the most common.
Btw, the US accounts for about 2% of all foreigners.
Source: https://www.e-stat.go.jp/stat-search/files?page=1&layout=datalist&toukei=00250012&tstat=000001018034&cycle=1&year=20210&month=24101212&tclass1=000001060399
On a personal level (biased obviously), I’d say that consultants and software engineers are the most commonly seen.