I’m a 32-year-old white woman living in the U.S. as a U.S. citizen.
What this thread is: a search for ideas and feedback with realistic expectations and timeframes on the best course of action for permanent relocation to Japan.
What this thread is NOT: a search for a reality check, an invitation to question my reasons for wanting to relocate, or an invitation to tell me how slim my chances are and how difficult this will be. I’ve heard all the “you can’t do it”s in spades, thank you. For all intents and purposes, please assume that I will do whatever it takes to make this happen. All I need is to figure out how. Please be encouraging, if you respond. I don’t need to be talked out of this, I need to be talked into it.
I don’t know any Japanese. I did in my teens, but I’ve lost it. I reckon my first course of action would be to get immersed in the language and become fluent. Assuming unlimited time and dedication, what would be the fastest way to do this?
I’ve been working in the same field as a technical writer in the U.S. for over a decade, and I make over $150,000 a year with a consistent job history and great reviews. I’ve crafted high-level policies and procedure manuals, worked government jobs and for well-known companies. I don’t have a degree. In English, my skills (both spoken and written) have made it so I don’t need one. I know a bachelor’s degree is required for many of my potential paths into Japan – I’m not opposed to beginning the process of earning one, if necessary, here in the U.S. or of obtaining one in Japan. Whatever is cheapest and most efficient would be my goal, since the entire point of the degree, if necessary, would be to best qualify for foreign work in Japan. With 12+ years of a consistent job history, I’m not sure how necessary this is, or how in-demand technical writers (or any kind of writers) are. I’d make a career shift as well, if that’s my best bet, but this is the thing I’m an expert in. For those unaware, Technical Writing generally falls into the IT category. I’m also semi-proficient in coding and can “talk the talk” with engineers, but that’s where my skill there ends.
I have a dog, who is coming with me. Yes, troublesome. I’m aware. Knowing that it’s troublesome, and that I’d be better off throwing my dog in a crate somewhere for the rest of his life here in the U.S., I’m still bringing my dog. He’s a purebred black lab and a U.S. legally recognized service dog, 2 years of age. What would be my best bet to find housing for us? What obstacles should I consider beyond the obvious paperwork, arrival, and quarantine?
I’m overweight. Where I’m from, I’m in the lower 30% of weight (haha, yikes) but in Japan I have a feeling I’d be in the top percentiles for sure. How much will this impact perception of me in regards to making this happen? Immediate weight loss is possible if it’s something that might impact my chances (when interviewing for jobs there, for example) but I don’t know how important this is to Japanese people, and if I should dedicate my time to changing this for the sake of relocation.
I have capital somewhere in the tens of thousands (U.S.) but if working longer and saving more is going to be my best bet, I’ll do that too. At this point I think it’s a matter of aging out of being employable versus time to build a stronger financial foundation. I’m not really in a rush.
Again, please be kind and understanding – there are many reasons I’m not the ideal candidate to move to Japan, and employers will see that as such. It will be difficult. I get it. What I really need help with is minimizing those hurdles, pivoting in the RIGHT directions, and making this happen.
Thank you so much for any helpful comments.
13 comments
This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.
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**Help me find the best plan of attack from the U.S.**
I’m a 32-year-old white woman living in the U.S. as a U.S. citizen.
What this thread is: a search for ideas and feedback with realistic expectations and timeframes on the best course of action for permanent relocation to Japan.
What this thread is NOT: a search for a reality check, an invitation to question my reasons for wanting to relocate, or an invitation to tell me how slim my chances are and how difficult this will be. I’ve heard all the “you can’t do it”s in spades, thank you. For all intents and purposes, please assume that I will do whatever it takes to make this happen. All I need is to figure out how. Please be encouraging, if you respond. I don’t need to be talked out of this, I need to be talked into it.
I don’t know any Japanese. I did in my teens, but I’ve lost it. I reckon my first course of action would be to get immersed in the language and become fluent. Assuming unlimited time and dedication, what would be the fastest way to do this?
I’ve been working in the same field as a technical writer in the U.S. for over a decade, and I make over $150,000 a year with a consistent job history and great reviews. I’ve crafted high-level policies and procedure manuals, worked government jobs and for well-known companies. I don’t have a degree. In English, my skills (both spoken and written) have made it so I don’t need one. I know a bachelor’s degree is required for many of my potential paths into Japan – I’m not opposed to beginning the process of earning one, if necessary, here in the U.S. or of obtaining one in Japan. Whatever is cheapest and most efficient would be my goal, since the entire point of the degree, if necessary, would be to best qualify for foreign work in Japan. With 12+ years of a consistent job history, I’m not sure how necessary this is, or how in-demand technical writers (or any kind of writers) are. I’d make a career shift as well, if that’s my best bet, but this is the thing I’m an expert in.
I have a dog, who is coming with me. Yes, troublesome. I’m aware. Knowing that it’s troublesome, and that I’d be better off throwing my dog in a crate somewhere for the rest of his life here in the U.S., I’m still bringing my dog. He’s a purebred black lab and a U.S. legally recognized service dog, 2 years of age. What would be my best bet to find housing for us?
I’m overweight. Where I’m from, I’m in the lower 30% of weight (haha, yikes) but in Japan I have a feeling I’d be in the top percentiles for sure. How much will this impact perception of me in regards to making this happen? Immediate weight loss is possible if it’s something that might impact my chances (when interviewing for jobs there, for example) but I don’t know how important this is to Japanese people.
I have capital somewhere in the tens of thousands (U.S.) but if working longer and saving more is going to be my best bet, I’ll do that too. At this point I think it’s a matter of aging out of being employable versus time to build a stronger financial foundation. I’m not really in a rush.
Again, please be kind and understanding – there are many reasons I’m not the ideal candidate to move to Japan, and employers will see that as such. It will be difficult. I get it. What I really need help with is minimizing those hurdles, pivoting in the RIGHT directions, and making this happen.
Thank you so much for any helpful comments.
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>Please be encouraging
Japan is the worst place for people who take this sort of attitude.
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>I’m overweight. Where I’m from, I’m in the lower 30% of weight (haha, yikes) but in Japan I have a feeling I’d be in the top percentiles for sure. How much will this impact perception of me in regards to making this happen? Immediate weight loss is possible if it’s something that might impact my chances (when interviewing for jobs there, for example) but I don’t know how important this is to Japanese people, and if I should dedicate my time to changing this for the sake of relocation.
This is the least of your problems. While significant percentage of Japanese are skinny, there are Japanese of all shapes and sizes, even for younger women. Probably 5 out of the 20 moms at my son’s kinder would be considered at least obese. You are likely not in the top percentile.
1.) I would think maybe marketing for an company would be a good fit for you in terms of jobs, but that would require close to native level Japanese. You may also fit the 10 year experience no degree requirement for a work visa so that isn’t too big of an issue. Be warned though, you won’t be receiving a 150K USD equivalent salary in Japan. For marketing type jobs, even in a giant multinational like Toyota with 10 years experience, don’t get your hopes up for more than 7M yen per year.
2.) A lab is definitely a much larger than usual dog here and you would need a detached house with a 3000 square foot yard, which you could only find in rural areas more than 1.5 hours commute from central Tokyo by train. I think it would be cruel to trap a huge dog in a 300 square foot condo more so than the difficulty of finding a place that allows pets.
3.) As long as you aren’t morbidly obese to the point you can’t walk up stairs unaided or between train stations, I don’t see how your weight will be an issue.
if, somehow, you can find someone to hire you for technical writing in Japan without any Japanese ability (miracle?) you might be able to squeeze by without a bachelors if you can prove your 10+ experience, but that’s if the miracle job would want to deal with that since proving experience is more precarious with immigration than just having a bachelors.
I tell this to everyone in the states without a degree who wants to come here, but look into doing WGU as it’s probably the best/easiest way to get a legitimate bachelors in something maybe useful to come here, if you’re good at self pacing/self studying.
The only real way to permanently relocate here is work on a long term work visa for a while and then get PR or get married to a citizen and then again live here long enough for PR. There’s temp ways in like maybe you could come in on a student visa to do college and get a degree but you gotta figure out how you’re gonna work after school to stay (or again, get married).
Pets will be an issue, it’s much harder to find rentals allowing pets, but not impossible I suppose.
The easiest way to get there is to be an English teacher, since you don’t have a degree. Or perhaps a student visa, you can go to a language school. Regardless, start learning Japanese now, start with hiragana and katakana, there’s lots of apps to help you with these basics. Best of luck to you.
The easiest way is teaching english.
If you just want to live in Japan, find a job with USA military base and ask them to relocate you.
Technically no white collar job for middle aged people from abroad without BA degree and Japanese proficiency.
Honestly, go get a bachelor’s degree and study Japanese in the mean time.
Japam is not going anywhere.
Check the military bases and American Embassy for openings. But if you’re demanding kid gloves for this post alone, Japan’s not the place for you. Thicker skin and a mind of steel are also required.
There are technical writers at tech companies in Japan. Mine even has English ones too. Did you check the big names in tech for openings yet?
I’d look at r/ Japan finance and search for people who work remote for a US company in Japan. I’m not 100% on the details but they had to hire some middle man company to run their visa through (and of course you have to pay them) and they were able to work for a US company remotely while living here. If you can find a remote gig in the states that’s flexible you may be able to keep doing what your doing now in Japan. From the little I know, some people can also become a 1099 contractor in the states for their old US employer when they move and register as a sole proprietorship or Koujin Jigyou in Japan, but the only one I’ve read that did this was already here before on a spouse visa. That being said if you can come here with a different job and get a work visa maybe you can switch after your first year and set something like this up. Maybe hit up some immigration lawyers in Japan for a consultation. Good luck OP.
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