It’s been a couple weeks since the interview and I hadn’t brought myself to post here partially because this sub can be really insensitive and mean at times but in case this helps and stops just one person from going trough an inappropriate interview, I guess it’s worth it.
I went to a modeling interview I was invited to in Shinjuku by a company’s posting that was on jobsinjapan.
To keep things short ,the interviewer tried to retake my measurements while just in bra by himself and also asked me out to izakaya at the end which really made it clear that it wasn’t professional at all. The building the company is in was very upscale and so it wasn’t really something I had anticipated.
I believe it’s a real estate company that also happens to work with foreigners to find them jobs but again not so sure about the motivations here.
EDIT: The company was seeking for models, no experience required and responded very promptly with an interview appointment which was somewhat new for me. Literally the next day. Just please be careful about being able to actually see proof of a companies involvement with said modeling and how professional the communication seems via e-mail. Watch out for a certain one that’s located In Shinjuku. I guess that’s all I can say while being vague enough
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Modeling agencies oftentimes scams by some guys who try to get it with the girls. Some modeling agencies will send their models to membership only “dating” clubs too or to entertain certain “guests”. Furthermore modeling and idol agencies are known for extreme punishments for breaking contract, oftentimes in the tens of millions of yen, making it extremely hard to quit once you sign
May be a scam but also the fact that Japan does business deals in izakayas/restaurants, not in the office.
You were sitting on certain a black couch weren’t you…
G-Forest lookup gives a shady company without any clear details, registered in Osaka. Another company, this time Forest but with website g-forest.com seems to be another small, Osakan logistics company.
Be very careful with modelling agencies, because many are pitch black companies which are employing people without pay and making them pay arbitrary fees for any breaches. Only go for well-known names. And even then, to be honest, stay alert. Way too many creeps who are merely after women there.
There was a shitty ALT dispatch company (redundant i know) called GLAD that went belly up and stole a bunch of people’s last few months salary.
Now the owner is hiding from the labor department and his former employees, while opening a new company, called FRONT, doing the exact same thing with a fake new name and fake picture on the website.
I just wanna say I’m really sorry this happened to you and I hope you’re ok. Thank you for sharing your experience and spreading the word in hopes to help other women.
This is dodgy as shit. A real estate company does not introduce foreign women to modelling. Front companies have offices that look normal, so that’s no reassurance. I think you dodged a bullet.
Sorry you had to go through that. Thanks for sharing.
Damn. That interview is a bona fide creep
This is Japan.
It’s still like the UK in the 70s and 80s here, in terms of dodgy relationships between models/talent and agencies/bosses.
Jimmy Savile / Rolf Harris would be in heaven here.
If you want to do modeling as a foreigner here, go through an agency specifically for foreigners like Free Wave (not an endorsement, just the first name that came to mind).
They can filter through a lot of the scammy stuff for you and also provide some amount of support (your mileage may vary) if you find yourself in a position where you feel like you’re being exploited.
OP, I know your intentions are good, but in Japan you have to be careful about publicly naming a company that you are criticizing. (Even when stating facts that are true). The defamation laws here are very strict and are enforced.
Under Article 230-1 of the Criminal Code of Japan:
“(1) A person who defames another by alleging facts in public shall, regardless of whether such facts are true or false, be punished by imprisonment with or without work for not more than three (3) years or a fine of not more than 500,000 yen.”
https://kellywarnerlaw.com/japan-defamation-laws
I don’t have any connection to that agency but you should at least offer some feedback to someone there. Especially since this impacted you working with them.
I’m a male who had an agency that I really liked working with their staff except there was one manager who was girl crazy. After a shoot we were in Shibuya having a coffee & a female friend ran into me & just said a quick hello. After she left he for some reason asked me if I could give his card to her. It’s a foreign agency, she was Japanese & she didn’t even say a word to him.
My point is sometimes it’s one staff member that can suck but sorry to hear about your experience. There are plenty of other good agencies in Tokyo.
I’m sorry this happened to you. I’ve considered looking for work there while I visit but feel my lack of japanese language skills I’d end up getting screwed.
oh my, did you stop him from retaking the measurement?
Hold up, did you just say a real estate agency tried to measure your boobs at a job interview? What the flying fuck!?!