Is it possible to find a professional job without the language?

Hi everybody,
I might be moving to japan in the near future to pursue a postdoc, im finishing my PhD in neuroscience. For a postdoc position, everything is done in english and thats the only requirement, but i wanted to check what other possibilities i have, and most of what i can find are pharma jobs, which require a good level of japanese. Is it possible to work outside academia without japanese?
BTW, im more than willing to learn, i just need to know if i can learn while im there or i should do it before applying

5 comments
  1. Yes it’s possible. I’m moving to a company with N3 skill and they are OK with that (but I will still need to develop my language). Otherwise perhaps start with a JSPS post doc in Japan?

  2. What about working for a foreign company based in Japan? Totally different industry (software), but my office had a regional VP of Sales who was very successful at his job, was **handsomely** compensated, and barely speaks 10 words of Japanese. At the time he left the company he had been living in Japan for 21 years.

  3. It all depends on the job. No one can say definitively. The language requirement is usually on job postings.

  4. In IT yeh. Everything else is very specific but not likely to be honest. Learn Japanese. Take a gap year and study using JASSO or MEXT. Japanese is very accessible and has a natural learning curve people are too quick to give up.

    Have you thought about becoming a lecturer at tokyo medical uni or one of the American ones like Sophia or Temple? Academia kinda but I presumed you were talking about the Eikaiwa sh×t-tier jobs.

  5. Same story. I have finished my phd in Taiwan and am working as Postdoc for my advisor. I am also looking for a job in Japan and I dont know Japanese as well. I have tried applying for labs and companies there. However, it is so hard until now. I got rejected from several companies. 🙁 . Most of companies where I have applied, only use Japanese in their recruitment web pages. So I think they might require Japanese for these positions. I think I have to start learning Japanese now.
    Btw, any advice for find job in the field of image processing, computer vision in Japan with no Japanese requirement?
    Thank you!

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