I would like to move to Japan but I’m in my early 40s. I am an engineer so would be looking for a tech job with decent pay. Before the pandemic I saw a few on the job boards. I have significant savings that I can put into doing this.
My Japanese isn’t great. Basic conversational, not really good at keigo. Kana are okay but not kanji. That said, most engineers in Japan apparently do a lot of work in English anyway, e.g. writing software and reading product datasheets.
Long hours are no good for me. I hear Panasonic is moving to 4 day weeks, that would be ideal, along with remote work with periodic trips into the office.
I have visited Japan more times than I can count and know the greater Tokyo area fairly well. I have friends in Japan, I know how to live relatively cheaply (Daiso and Hard Off/Off House). I like Japanese food and culture.
How feasible is this? I’d be looking to make it permanent. Rent initially, then get a house, live there into retirement.
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> I have visited Japan more times than I can count and know the greater Tokyo area fairly well. I have friends in Japan, I know how to live relatively cheaply (Daiso and Hard Off/Off House). I like Japanese food and culture.
If this is true then you probably know wether or not it’s a good idea. Are you just looking for validation?
Sounds like you have a good job so you can find something. You might want to try international companies in Japan. The world life balance is often better there I hear. Check for reviews on the companies you are considering so you have an idea what you’re getting into.
as for living here till youre dead thats getting a bit ahead of yourself. take it in strides and maybe it will get there but maybe not and thats okay. Man makes plans god laughs.
It sounds like the key will be whatever job you get. If you can get a job that meets your requirements and is a reasonable salary for your life goals (home ownership), then it will probably work.
You might want to browse the r/japanlife subreddit for threads about home buying to see people’s experiences if that is a key concern for you. Especially if you want to buy before getting PR.
My husband and I are in our 40s and just made the move las year. In many ways it’s like any other move for work— you look at the job offer and run the calculations to see if it works for you. We did not plan to move to Japan, but it was one option on the table and it ended up being the best one. We’re also planning for it to be permanent.
I will say one consideration would be finding friends. Not that it’s impossible to make friends in your 40s, but I have a family and most of the people at my office that age have families. It means socializing is a bit different, as people tend to spend evening and weekends with family. We’re making friends our age through our child, but it might be tougher if you don’t have a family since many people in their 40s are in that life stage. But that’s the same issue for making friends as an adult no matter where you are!
I would recommend to work for a foreign company in Japan.
Are you ok with the Japanese working culture ? I don’t know how is in your country but you can easily search for “Japanese working culture” and you are going to find lots of information. If you are ok with that then yeah Welcome!
>That said, most engineers in Japan apparently do a lot of work in English anyway, e.g. writing software and reading product datasheets.
No, many Japanese engineers can barely understand the English text of error messages and only read technical documents written in English via Google Translate.
Development design documents, information sharing within the team, and meetings with customers are in Japanese.
Of course, there are some workplaces where English is often used, but that is a small percentage of the total. Still, it is the most realistic option for people in this sub, because it is quite large relative to other professions.
On the topic of home ownership, I’ll echo u/dalkyr82 in saying that financing a home would be difficult, if not impossible in the near-to-mid future. Banks will not be giving mortgages to foreign nationals with a 1 to 3 year work visa. Permanent residency would be the only likely solution, but that would be many years down the road.
Perhaps one way to go is to get into Japan on an investor visa (need quite a lot of money saved, need to set up a company in Japan, and hire at least two Japanese people). If your current job has any route to becoming a source of freelance work that could turn into a business, that’s something (very slightly) worth looking into.
Lastly, I think there are some threads on r/JapanFinance about this topic, and if this line of questioning hasn’t been answered already, there are some extremely knowledgeable and helpful people there that will have the hard numbers for you.
Hello. I will send you a direct message
Hey, if you are good enough of an engineer, there definitely will be opportunities in international tech companies or Japanese companies trying to be international that will have good pay and culture. There’s not a HUGE list, but they exist. The ones I would recommend are Stripe (I work there), Google, Indeed, SmartNews, Mercari, CircleCI, DoorDash, Snowflake. If you are into game development, Niantic and PlayCo. Most of these should be remote friendly or have hybrid work policies. Early 40s is no problem in tech.
https://japan-dev.com/ and https://www.tokyodev.com/ are great places to look for opportunities.
Take a look at this video!
https://youtu.be/nhQIIFYtIAs