Some background info. Recently married to a Japanese citizen in America. She is going to return to Japan soon and begin the spouse visa process. I had previously read that this process takes roughly around 4 months.
I have been working in finance for the past three years and currently work as a banker, however I don’t have a degree.
I would say my Japanese speaking level is around N3-N4 and writing and reading at N4. I plan to reach N3 in the coming months.
I had previously considered working as an ALT teacher or an Eikaiwa, but upon researching it more it seems there is a lot of shady business practices in the teaching/eikaiwa business.
While I’m still in America, is there anything I can do to make myself more employable to a variety of Japanese companies?
Any advice is appreciated.
4 comments
The sad reality is that nobody cares about your JLPT level until you reach N2 or N1. That’s the baseline for companies hiring foreigners that require fluency in Japanese. From what I have seen in the past, if you can do the entire job hunting process and all communication in Japanese without slipping up or sounding weird, many companies assume you’re a functioning adult in terms of language and nobody cares about JLPT level at all.
People in IT jobs have it easier when applying at companies that care more about programming language skills than Japanese language skills. There, even a lower JLPT level could make the difference between you and the other person that doesn’t speak Japanese at all.
English teaching in Japan will not really help your career and after a point it can get difficult to get out of that career path. If you’re tall, white, have a heartbeat and look good in a suit you shouldn’t have much of a problem finding an English teaching job. I have to leave explaining the red flags up to others due to lack of experience in that field (all I could do is link “Barry vs Japan” again, but that’s a crass example).
Your spouse visa basically enables you to work as anything you want in Japan as long as you remain a spouse. Anything includes working remotely so you don’t necessarily _have_ to work at a Japanese company.
Try not to get divorced until you can get permanent residency. If you ever get children, try not to get divorced at all if you want them to remain in your life.
If you can somehow work remotely from Japan until you get your Japanese level to N2 and at the same time keep your LinkedIn updated in stealth job hunting mode to find fiance opportunities, that would be ideal.
Japanese companies _love_ relevant certifications, so if you can get some while still in America, that would help.
You could look for a job editing financial documents that were translated from Japanese into English. Google investor relations firms in Tokyo.
N3 can be enough to get you into some decent work but your chances are quite slim. I know because that’s me. I’d say it’s easier to just get N2 than to take my route though. N4 you’re going to have to settle with ALT or eikaiwa work.
The reason why ALT/eikaiwa work is shady is because prior to the borders closing, it was much easier to find meat for the grinder. I worked at one only on a part-time basis but it was the worst. I’m actually planning on making a video on eikaiwas and ALT companies on my youtube though I’m still working on other content.
I don’t have N2 or 1 only N3 (although I failed N2 by 1 point). Instead, I went to Japanese language school and my graduation certificate spoke for me (as well as my communication skills). I worked at the Stock Exchange until just last year, and have been working at a software development studio since.
If you’re in finance, you’ll find most large (and ofc international) companies will have a spot for you. By “international” I mean companies like Amazon, Google, etc. Large companies may have a spot but they will always prioritize someone with both English and Japanese.
Because the JLPT is so general knowledge-based, if you have N3 (which is the level normal people communicate at here) + finance and finance-adjacent vocab, you may be able to get into finance. Also, get familiar with how Japanese versions of office apps work too and if there are any (Japanese) certification courses for them, take it.
I’m in a very similar situation to you (spouse visa and worked in finance). It took me about 7 months of searching to get a job. It obviously depends on your experience and expertise but most jobs listings I saw required fluent Japanese. I was lucky to finally get one where Japanese ability is not important