Traditional Jobs

3 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Traditional Jobs**

   Hello, I hope you are well.

   Does anyone know anything about dying traditional jobs & their availability to foreigners?

   Long have I been hearing Japan is having many traditional jobs die from the disinterest of younger generations, rather than for economic reasons, but I have not been able to find further information on this.

   Does anyone know anything?

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2. Legally speaking, basically no real shot at it unless you’re married to a Japanese national.

   Generally speaking, even then, they’re not often industries open to foreigners but if you’re a legal resident of Japan, it does open up your chances a bit.

   Edit: I wanted to add that there does exist a visa that would potentially let you practice traditional crafts but you cannot get a job out of it and you are not allowed to get paid under it either. It’s also limited to a few years if my memory serves right.

3. >& their availability to foreigners?

   Effectively nonexistent.

   While there is a visa for *studying* traditional arts/jobs (the Cultural Activities visa) there’s no visa for actually working in those fields.

   For most trades the only available option is to go to a Japanese vocational school, which grants a *very* narrow visa exception. But for a more traditional trade that requires an apprenticeship instead of school I don’t think this option would apply.