It’s an extremely long story but basically I was born in Japan and my parents emigrated to the U.S. when I was two years old, and lived there for practically my whole life( I am 22 now). My parents never taught me Japanese because they always spoke to me in English or Spanish. they both are mixed btw.
Just about 2 years ago, I have moved back to Japan due to personal issues (nothing illegal don’t worry). And if you know U.S. laws I am restricted from entering back for a bit. I would say ten years or so.
Since I’ve moved here I’ve gotten a factory job and have been working for a little over a year now. But I’ve been wanting to expand my options and not keep myself in a bubble. I’ve been trying to learn Japanese but my long job hours that differ every week has been keeping me so occupied that I have barely had anytime to actually sit down and study( sometimes doing 14 hour shifts and night shifts as well so I’m very beat and never have time to myself). Yes, I would say it has been getting better but holding a conversation is still a huge struggle for me till this day. I feel kind of stuck on how to move forward in finding a job that can probably use my English and maybe better my Japanese. It’s hard as well because the job I currently have, has a lot of Spanish speakers who don’t really know Japanese as well, so I technically am not learning by force.
Basically, I can’t move back for another couple of years and I feel stuck. I also thought maybe I have an advantage to find jobs since I don’t need a visa sponsor because I’m already a Japanese national. But of course it’s still hard to find jobs. As well as figuring out where to even start or where to look for a new one.
It’s a very hard situation to explain fully but if anyone has any idea or can also relate, which hopefully there is someone else out there that understand, please help. Thank you.
20 comments
I feel you on the language, it can be tough to learn even if you’re surrounded by the language. With that being said though, learning a language is never effort free. You’re gonna have to go the long yards for any kind of results, regardless of what you got going on in your life.
Don’t let your work get in the way. Study on the train, and find people to practice with. I use Tandem app for chatting and it’s worked out really well. Avoid Hello Talk though. It’s full of scammers and people looking for hookups.
Find a job teaching English. As a native speaker it shouldn’t be too hard. Most English teaching jobs don’t have an intense work load so you can use your down time to study Japanese or other skills. Also try to network with as many people as you can and the right opportunities will present themselves.
I think if language learning is your goal you only have two options
1. Bust your ass off by working those long shifts and study Japanese when commuting, getting home and on weekends.
2. Find a new job with more immersion (Japanese coworkers) and that occupies less of your time so you can study more.
As another Japanese national who wasn’t even born in Japan and “came back” at the age of 21 knowing little Japanese… I can tell you that if you have another passport aside from Japan or a non-Japanese name or appearance, you already have more advantages than me. I only have a Japanese passport, plus a Japanese name and appearance. Sure, I didn’t need a visa, but I was locked out of some foreigner-oriented jobs because of my passport or appearance, and when I came to Japan, I had no in-demand skills or experience. Without Japanese, I had difficulty getting entry level jobs… I felt like I was screwed in every direction.
In my case, I was allowed to stay with my family and not pay the bills, so I put all my focus into language learning. Entered a language school, got a part-time job to pay the tuition, got N2 in a year, and then found work where I could use both my Japanese and English skills. If you can’t live with someone or in a share house to lower the bills and free up some time for studying or perhaps even going to a language school, you just have to find the time and method. I’d play Wanikani whenever I had even a bit of free time, and pretty much anything I consumed was in Japanese. What matters more than the amount of study is the consistency – find a way to either study or consume Japanese every day.
If this is way too hard, consider getting an English or Spanish teaching job because as someone else mentioned, they usually have less workload than, say, a factory job. Keep checking job sites and get in touch with recruiters in case opportunities pop up.
Do you have a university degree?
I think it would help if you let the sub know if you have a bachelor’s and if you have any other citizenship.
Also – how is your Spanish? Native, college level or sort of kitchen conversational?
Do you have a degree?
Otherwise English teaching or tour guide is your best option.
Edit: working front desk in a hotel ?
What is your skill set? Is money a problem?
If you can pass a background check you should be able to get a job on an American military base. A certain number of jobs are MLC positions for local nationals. Check any bases local to you or that you would be willing to move to!
Restricted for 10 years?? How why?
Hey friend. I’ve been there. I’m one of those nikkeijin too, who by virtue of being born in a developing country, was designated to be a Japanese citizen. It’s not easy for sure – probably the cultural gap and expectations of people for you to understand everything was the hardest part for me. Especially with things like doing things at the kuyakusho, or trying to decipher rental agreements. But it’ll come, slowly but surely.
Yeah, like a lot of folks are saying, I got a teaching job, which was a gateway to other work. I also had a stint working front desk at a hotel which was fun but very demanding. Just keep the studying consistent, even if it’s just an hour a day. Listen to Japanese podcasts, watch Japanese shows. I made a lot of progress binge watching Terrace House. Dm me if you have any questions about any of that.
頑張ってね！
Omg same here!
I don’t know US laws, why are you restricted from re-entering the US for 10 years?
If you have decent computer skills and are a fluent English speaker I can maybe introduce you. Job is in Tokyo though.
I would think you have at least basic Japanese? For very simple daily conversation, etc.
> And if you know U.S. laws I am restricted from entering back for a bit.
>
> (nothing illegal don’t worry)
You guys sure have weird laws in US because I can’t figure out a reason why you cannot go back to US.
Go back to high school, seriously I’m not even kidding.
I just attend an “education progression” for my middle school kids, there were many foreign kids who don’t speak Japanese being given plenty of help.
There’ll be atleast a school that provide night classes for ppl who work in the morning.
Go to your city hall, education section.
> And if you know U.S. laws I am restricted from entering back for a bit
Uhh no, i dont know this. Please expand why you can’t enter the US for 10 years LOL. I’m assuming you did something illegal? Or your parents moved illegally and you don’t have the paperwork to return to the US.
Try moving somewhere with a large concentration of English speakers such as Hakuba, Okinawa or Niseko.
Plenty of positions that are English-only, some will be in more Japanese-language dominant work environments whilst others will be in more English environments.
I learned to speak conversational-to-business level Japanese working in an “English only” position.
Does the factory work pay bad?
Truck driver at a big company has long hours, but good money.
You will need to learn Japanese. There is very few niche you can fill without it. If you get like N1 or maybe even N2, you can apply for gaishiki company maybe. There your english will be a strength but you will need to be able to run meetings, negociate contract etc. to work in an office in Japanese. Some mentioned english teaching, if you can do that there is usually down time I hear where you could study. Plus summers are off.
It may be easier to get paid a living wage in the US and study Japanese for a year or so while creating saving. Then come over and study at a intensive language school for like 6-12 months while applying for jobs and burning through savings. Also I dont know if you have a college degree but you will need that probably. You could pick Japanese as the major and do community college.