In 2016 I got a job at Rakuten and was able to live in Tokyo for about a year. Eventually I left the company because I really did the wrong move for my career – I had taken a regular system administration job that paid quite a low salary, and was doing a lot to stunt the progression of my career. Since I was unable to get another job within the 90 days I returned to the states.
I’ve wanted to return ever since I left, but life had gotten in the way in one manner or another over the last 5 years. Now that I’m looking to return, I’m hoping to avoid some of the mistakes I made last time, and I have a new set of circumstances that I’d like some advice for.
\- I changed my name legally last year. When I return to Japan is there something that I will need to do to ensure that they link my two identities? I don’t want to seem like I’m not being forthcoming with my previous experience in Japan. Will this automatically happen when I present my passport? How about when picking up a Zairyu card?
\- How likely is it as a senior platform engineer to get a job that will require minimal Japanese? I’ve studied for a while and I’m not the kind of person who wants to move to Japan and speak English my whole life, it’s just that right now I do not have the proficiency or confidence to do my job properly in Japanese.
\- Are there any areas other than Tokyo that are a decent tech hub that I should look into? I’ve heard rumors that tech hubs are developing outside of Tokyo
\- My primary job hunt is through LinkedIN. Are there any other good places for somebody like me looking for tech work to search?
\- Hiring in the US tech sector has slowed dramatically. Can anybody prepare me for what to expect on my upcoming job hunt in Japan?
\- How difficult will it be to find a company that will sponsor another visa?
\- Last bit to mention is that I do not have a college degree, but I do have 22 years of experience in my field. One of the reasons I couldn’t get a job last time was because in spite of my experience the companies that took interest in me wanted a degree. How much do you think this will be a barrier to me these days?
Thanks for reading.
3 comments
1 For non PR people, the only thing I can think of that may still be tied to your old identity is nenkin. If you have your nenkin number still from having worked previously you can apply for a name change via their offices. Otherwise, once you deregister and let the period lapse, you are out of their system and you have to start from scratch.
2 Hard to say. I am sure you can find SOME job like your rakuten experience, but whether the compensation will satisfy you is another story. Imagine any foreigner working in a country without being native in the language. Overall IT SE is more forgiving in that you could get by with just intermediate Japanese as opposed to native level. But even so, you do run into the danger that your Japanese level could limit your career advancement. A word of warning is that careers and salary raises here don’t come quickly. Your Rakuten experience could be very similar to many other places here.
3 Any major city, Tokyo Osaka Fukuoka, seems to growing in that field.
4 you could try recruiters, indeed person etc. None of them significantly outperform one another in my experience.
5 No idea but economies are somewhat intertwined. If there is a slump in the USA, there probably won’t be a crazy boom here.
6 Shouldn’t be hard if the company is legit. All they gotta do is fill out some papers for immigration
> I changed my name legally last year. When I return to Japan is there something that I will need to do to ensure that they link my two identities? I don’t want to seem like I’m not being forthcoming with my previous experience in Japan. Will this automatically happen when I present my passport? How about when picking up a Zairyu card?
On the CoE and/or visa application (not sure which have which), you need to list if and when you’ve been in Japan before. You also need to list your previous name(s). This should link the two identities.
>Are there any areas other than Tokyo that are a decent tech hub that I should look into? I’ve heard rumors that tech hubs are developing outside of Tokyo
Fukuoka is a well known one. Tokyo and Osaka definitely have the most job opportunities though.
>My primary job hunt is through LinkedIN. Are there any other good places for somebody like me looking for tech work to search?
There are some different websites like Japan Dev and indeed. You should also try to apply directly to the employer.
2. Very likely, but as mentioned by others, the pay may not satisfy you and you will likely be similarly limited in growth in many companies as you were with Rakuten. What do you consider to be a “quite low” salary?
3. Tokyo is definitely still the main one with the best paying opportunities as far as I am aware.
4. https://www.tokyodev.com/
6. If they willingly hire you as a foreigner who currently has no status of residency, they most likely (like 99% chance) are also intent on sponsoring a visa for you.
7. As long as the majority of your experience was in a single discernible profession and not jumping around between roles this will absolutely suffice for both employers and immigration.
Sorry that I couldn’t answer all of your questions, I’ve only answered what I’m sure about.