Vet Nurse/Tech in Japan

4 comments

1. Apparently you will need to pass an obscure exam.

   Edit: quick google search

   https://shingakunet.com/smp/bunnya/w0026/x0342/shikaku/

2. >… become a vet nurse in Japan or would my uni degree be enough

   There is no official Work Visa category for vet nurse/tech so you would have a hard time convincing Japanese Immigration that you have special skills that Japanese persons don’t have or are in rare supply.

   Additionally your vet nurse/tech license is not valid in Japan. You would have to redo your education at the native level of Japanese language to get to your current stage of employment/career as a vet nurse in the UK. Besides passing vet nurse coursework and tests in Japanese, you will need a bachelor’s degree to qualify for a work visa ^{which ^most ^likely ^won’t ^be ^issued ^in ^your ^case} .

   * [**All the rules for a foreign veterinarian to get licensed in Japan…**](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/gczli0/prospects_of_being_an_american_veterinary_in_japan/fpf3zbx/)

   * [**Prospects of Veterinary work**](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/gczli0/prospects_of_being_an_american_veterinary_in_japan/)

   * [**Alternative Pathways & Future Outlook: Veterinarian in Japan**](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/jicnsg/alternative_pathways_future_outlook_veterinarian/)

   * [**Prospects of Being an American Veterinary in Japan**](https://www.reddit.com/r/movingtojapan/comments/gczli0/prospects_of_being_an_american_veterinary_in_japan/)

   #ONE LOOPHOLE:
   Just marry a Japanese veterinarian and work for them under a [Spouse Visa of Japanese national](https://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/long/visa10.html). Many, perhaps most, Japanese veterinarians have their spouse working for them in their vet clinic and most of these spouses do not any formal vet nurse education or licensing.

   **Small temporary loophole:**

   Provided you are under the age of 30, you can come to Japan on a Working Holiday Visa for only year or so and work in Japanese vet clinic as a “helper” which does not require a license.

3. >I have heard that {animal} euthanasia isn’t really a thing in Japan, is this true?

   Japanese believe in “nature taking its course,” which sounds “nice” but in reality is just an excuse to sell more pricey veterinary services.

   * https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.2752/089279390787057559

   ________
   **Difficult questions for Japan’s animal…**
   [japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/07/31](https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/07/31/how-tos/difficult-questions-japans-animal-loving-city-dwellers/)

   >Mie Kikuchi, a pet therapist who works with cats and dogs, says that many Japanese people believe in trying to save an animal’s life right up till the end, and so vets do not want to administer euthanasia.

   >“In my experience it is case-by-case, but when it comes to the issue of euthanasia, it depends not only on the owner’s wishes but also on whether the vet will go along with it,” she says.

   >Mioko Honda, a licensed vet and an associate professor at Yamazaki Gakuen Daigaku, an institution specializing in animal health technology, agrees.

   >“When an animal’s health worsens beyond a certain point, Western vets will typically offer euthanasia as an option, and many owners choose it to end their pet’s suffering. However, this isn’t the case in Japan,” Honda says. “One major difference is the overriding belief among Japanese vets that their job is to sustain life, and so as long as an animal’s life can be sustained with medical techniques, they will advise this course of treatment. In my view, at least, another underlying factor is that vets who routinely offer euthanasia to patients may gain a reputation as being ‘too unskilled’ to treat animals with medical techniques, and nobody wants to risk that.”

4. Hey! RVN here from Ireland, working in UK. Have you looked any more into moving/working in Japan? It’s something I was hoping to do at some point too!