It’d really like to hear how other people have approached (and decided) at times where they’ve really questioned whether to stay in Japan or return to their own country.
I’ve been in Japan since the borders reopened, and there’s so much about life here that I really love – the food, the transport / walkability, the weather (other than the 2 months of summer), the countryside, the people.
The problem is, since moving here from the UK, I haven’t been able to find work and it’s weighing on my mind. Before coming, I was working in technology SMEs in senior management positions and was on the path to moving into a Managing Director / General Manager role (I turned down a MD position before moving here), something I’d been working towards for many years.
I was under no illusions that it would be an easy transition, but I’ve been surprised by just how hard opportunities are to come by. The tech ‘recession’ put a freeze on hiring in Japan last year for the likes of Amazon, Google, Uber, Spotify, and now that roles are reopening, they’ve switched to requiring bilinguals vs previously listing conversational Japanese as a ‘nice to have.’ I’ve gone for a few roles and been told unless I’m N2 its a no go. Recruiters have been a dead-end – if you’re not N2 they’re not interested. The startup scene is challenging for different reasons – lack of funding and a 55% tax rate on share options mean it’s pretty much non-existent.
My Japanese is N4 level, and I work hard on it everyday but I don’t enjoy it and find it very difficult. I do struggle to see myself working in a Japanese environment should my Japanese improve enough to do so. I look at the time line and think at best I could reach N3 by December and unlock more opportunities but I don’t know if I can do another 6 months not working.
I’ve worked flat out for 20 years, and I’m at an age where starting a family and building that secure foundation is on my mind a lot. I’ve had job opportunities to move back to the UK but I’ve been telling myself to stick it out in Tokyo because something would come up. I’m flagging on whether I should keep going or whether I should be logical and go back to London.
Has anyone else been through something similar?
(FYI: My wife is Japanese, so my visa here isn’t dependent on my work and I have no restrictions. She’s okay with moving back to the UK)
12 comments
>I’ve been in Japan since the borders reopened
1853?
Do you need to work or do you have enough investments after 20 years to not need to work right away anymore?
Have you tried remote working for an English speaking company?
If that failed, if you really can’t bear it you have to move back to salvage your career and mind, take lessons in Japanese to get to N2 and try to stay “current” at that level.
GBP/JPY is ultra favourable should you wish to come back after.
The UK has other problems (housing gone nuts as you know)
How easy would it be for you to go back to the UK and get a high paying job? Could you earn enough to save up for retirement and perhaps even early retirement? You have real job skills that would be a shame to let go to waste. You might be a decade or two away from spending summers in the UK and the rest of the year in Japan. If you think in terms of decades and can earn enough, you don’t have to settle for either/or.
Where are you based? Assuming you are in Tokyo. Try to work remotely for a company abroad? Find gig work or contracts. Stay busy. It starts to look bad when you aren’t doing anything for too long. Network your ass off both virtually and F2F. Find and attend events – tons of networking and startup-related events and trade shows happening every week. Seek them out. Make connections. Large foreign enterprises, insurance companies and investment banks will be more likely to hire people with solid skills but limited Japanese. Then your English becomes important to liaise regionally and globally. There is a significant dearth of IT talent in Japan, if you can’t find a role of any kind, you aren’t trying hard enough or you are too picky.
I think if you read your post from our perspective you would know what to do. It really reads like you should go back.
Sorry if this sounds extra harsh.
You aren’t qualified to work in Japan if you don’t speak Japanese. You don’t speak the language of the land, why do you even think that a position should go your way over those of us who actually spent time to build a life and career here.
A leadership position means that you need to lead your team here to success. It’s arrogant to think that your team needs to acquiesce to you and speak English rather than the other way around. Another aspect of leadership is to represent your company and your team socially AND societally. Without the ability to speak Japanese, why should anybody think anything of you other than “that guy who was parachuted in”. You will have no credibility in the market at all. (I am in the same industry as you)
If you are serious about LIVING in Japan (different from WORKING) then you should serious consider, as others have said, a remote opportunity for a company abroad or back home where your skills actually match the position.
You are N4 level, in Japan, with a Japanese wife and not working so you have time… with discipline you could get to N2 without problem. Use anki for kanjis and sentences so you learn patterns, watch videos/series in Japanese and it’s done.
Being honest, if you haven’t been able to find a job in over a year.. it’s probably your skill set rather than the language. I suppose management positions are very thin on the ground though. Maybe you are being too picky?
Is your wife able to work back in the UK? A dual income is always important.. just be aware that it’s a comparative shitshow back home.
Living in Japan VS Getting desired career path, which one is more important to you now? You know you are not possible to get both at the same time?
Your plan was to move to Japan while not even having conversational Japanese and you’re married to a Japanese person? To top it off you admit you don’t enjoy learning the language?
Just get on the next plane to the UK. I can’t understand your questions.
Why stay in Japan? I would go back to the UK if I were you 😂😂 (As a person trying to get a job in the UK from Japan)
I lived here in Tokyo for 5y now. Starting to get boring. The UK looks more fun. You can travel to Europe if you feel like UK is getting bored. And the flight is less than 100pounds. Hehe