Ok, so I know from the title you’re probably thinking ‘How the Hell is a 14 year old supposed to move to Japan?’, so I want to make it clear, this is more of a future idea, at least 10 years or more away once I get through highschool and college. I just wanted to make this post as a way to get advice for *if* I ever go through with this.
So now with that out of the way, I’m a 14 year old possibly non-binary (I say possibly because I’m way too young to really know) male who’s been somewhat fascinated with the idea of moving to Japan since at least 9 years old. Although, up until now, it was always more of just a fun idea in the back of my mind. That is until I saw the slew of recent posts about people moving out of the US due to…recent events, which really made me think about my dreams of moving to a forgien country. Specifically, of course, Japan.
Now, I’ll just be completely honest, the main reason why I even considered Japan in the first place was the same reason as most people. Anime. However, once I learned that, shock of all shocks, Japan wasn’t a fun anime land all the time, the idea kinda fell off in my mind. That is until I thought about it more deeply and learned some more about it. Now I’m seriously considering it again. Everything I’ve heard from foreigners living in Japan paints it as this beautiful country that they love even despite its drawbacks. From what I’ve heard, it’s very easy to just walk where you need to go, there’s lots of nature, great food, etc. Not to mention, I’m also deeply in love with the culture and the history is interesting (even if Japan itself doesn’t want to tell some of it). But one of the strongest reasons I’m considering Japan is for the career opportunities it might have. Japan is one of if not the biggest art capital of the world, specifically for the kind of art I make, so moving there could open up a lot of business opportunities and experiences that otherwise wouldn’t be available to me.
However, while all of that and more definitely sounds amazing and almost tempts me to pack my bags, there are several drawbacks that I’m concerned about, specifically:
1. Work culture. I already show negative tendencies when it comes to my ‘work’ (drawing, writing my books, etc.) of pushing myself constantly or else feeling guilty, and considering this is the same type of work I want to do in Japan, I worry that the Japanese work culture will just push that in me to an unhealthy degree. On the other hand however, I might have a more independent/self-boss type job with the fields I’m pursuing, so this may not be an issue.
2. The supposed ‘fakeness’ of the Japanese people, the casual racism, and the isolation that I hear about in every thread talking about Japan. I’m not as concerned about this, since I’m not the most social person in the world and don’t mind being alone for the most part, but I acknowledge that I’m saying this as someone who is constantly surrounded by family and school friends, so I don’t truly know what isolation feels like or if I can deal with it. Plus, even though now I may be able to deal with the flakiness and racism, I have no idea if it’ll wear down on me over time.
3. The expense of living. With the work I want to do will I be able to afford to live in Japan (art, writing, animation, making manga, etc.)? To be fair though, is the US much better?
4. The future of my children if I have any. I heard Japanese School standards are insane and that Japanese society is not the best with teaching mental health, which is why the country has such a high suicide rate (though I’ve heard its exaggerated, so I don’t know). Do I really want to raise children in that environment, or would it be too much on them?
5. Other things like learning the language or maybe earthquakes (?).
So those are among the things that are holding me back from pursuing a path towards Japan. However, even with those in mind, I still want to move. At the very least, I plan on visiting several times. I’m already learning the language (even if I don’t move it’ll be nice to understand anime without subtitles), and know a decent amount about the culture/history. For additional reference, I’m currently planning to go to college for either art or marketing (of course subject to change), and hope to get a job in either one of those fields, both of which seem to have a high possibility for remote work. And even if Japan doesn’t work out, I still have other countries like France or Norway that I’m also thinking about.
So what are your suggestions? Again, I’m 14, so I still have a lot to think about and none of this is truly decided, I just want to entertain the idea and get suggestions for what I can do now to work up to it.
Also sorry for telling you my entire fucking lifestory with this, long post lol. Thanks in advance.
**EDIT:** I should make it clear, this post is more of a way to help make me think more realistically about this idea. To be honest, I probably won’t end up moving to Japan, but I still want to entertain the idea. Also, suggestions for other countries are welcome, as even if not Japan I do want to move to a different country someday for various reasons.
10 comments
1. Continue your studies, picking a niche that would appeal to Japanese companies. Stick with one particular subject/niche (long term you’ll want 10+ years in one subject area to appeal to a wide variety of companies)
2. Get a part time job while studying and save up some money.
3. Study Japanese language, the sooner the better.
4. Use savings from part-time job to go on a 2-4 week holiday in Japan, to see the country yourself first and foremost.
5. The next 3-5+ years, look into either a Working Holiday Visa, or Student visa with the aim to spend 1 year living in the country to see if its truly somewhere you want to spend the rest of your life
6. *Then* decide if you want to live there on a perm. basis.
Don’t worry about any of that stuff. You’re 14. You’re putting the cart way before the horse here. You don’t know anything about life yet or what you want to do even in your own country.
I’d say put the anime dreams to the side until you’ve actually got some life experience in your home country before deciding to leave it. Imagine uprooting your entire life and moving to a country where you don’t know anyone, where you have no connections, no visa, and you’ll most likely be working as an English teacher or doing some mind-numbing office work at best. Living in Japan for many is difficult, and for some it’s *worse*. If you want to live in Japan, you need to sit down and make a list of each individual step it would take to move and what is needed before you can do it (graduate high school, graduate college, find job, get visa, etc).
It’s good to have dreams, but the dream of being a manga artist or writer or whatever and living in Japan is *not going to happen*. *Ever*. You need to stamp that out right now because it’s fantasy and getting caught up in it will falsely make you think happiness is unobtainable where you are now. Though good on you for having the self-awareness to know what you don’t know, I would say.
You could also look at the Mext scholarship to have a full ride scholarship to study in Japan
1.) You can get around Japan without speaking Japanese, but the language itself is cool to learn and will come in handy. With that being said if you plan on working in Japan you need to know Japanese or you wont get a job, its a requirement needed for most if not all work enviroments.
2.) You may not be a social person now, but in 5-10 years you might be, when i was the age 13-20 (24 currently)i didnt talk to anyone, only time i made friends was when i was forced to communicate and i was very antisocial. Now im making friends left and right and talking to anyone who wants to talk. So keep this in mind. Dont worry about the negatives when it comes to how some people will view you when youre there, because no matter what youll find people who want to know you and be friends with you even if it takes a little time.
3.)The expense of living varies from where your located Kyoto 1 room aparments range from $300-$800/month, where as Tokyo is $500-$1500/month. So location plays a big part in expense choices. Youll also most likely need a trainpass which is believe its another $100-$300/month, however you could get rid of this by walking or riding a bike. (However keep in mind that it does rain more often in certain seasons, and gets super cold in the winter)
My biggest recommendation. Talk to your legal guardians, let them know this is what you plan on doing. Show them your committed by starting to learning the language on your own through, youtube, apps, or paid programs(not always an option for some). Start working early to save money since youll need alot of it just for the initial move over there.
Something id recommend would be to understand Japanese characters, and attend a language school straight out of highschool, itll give you a good start to explore japan while have responibilities as well as learning the language. Some language schools also provide help with find part time work while your there, living expenses (Cheaper places to stay as in dorm rooms or share homes through partenered places) I know a few language schools that actually will help you go to higher education right out of language school if you can pass the exams (they also have classes to help you study)
Japanese universities generally like foreigners at there schools so you can do college there. (which i wish i wouldve done) Im not sure what kind of art you do, but its related to Anime/Manga in any way they have vocational schools that literally build on that.
Im glad to see younger people wanting to go. Ill be there starting next year but ive down countless of hours and research gathring as much information as I can.
For reference (if you interested in what ive said) ill be going to Japan next April, attending Arc Kyoto (language school). Its $11,500(roughly) for 2 full years of language study, they help get a student visa and help you find work after the first 3-6 months. They also have scholarship programs for the language school if you have good attendence and grades (Its M-F for 4 1/2 hrs morning or afternoon). Ill be staying in a share home (A house with 8-20 people half Japanese half foreigners) to add to my experience there, which costs about $350 a month.
Thats the start of my plan. Most language schools have a way to get scholarships to Japanese universities as well, so as long as you focus and do your stuff you can cut down on costs signicantly.
For me to enter the country next April and even be able to go to school, I had to have $22,000 sitting in my bank account. This is so you can prove that youll be financially stable while there.
For me this covers language school $11,500 living costs for 2 years. With the plan of going to higher education afterwards.
The two biggest thing to focus on if you truly wanted to do this is :
Finance: Firstly get a job. Secondly and most important is making sure you manage your finances properly, dont go buying things at random because you have money. Split your pay check in to 3 parts. 1 Bills. 2 Spending money. 3 Saving. If you dont have bills, take it and put it in your savings. Keep adding money to savings and keep working. Be dedicated to doing this and itll help you out way more then just going to Japan. Its a good life skill.
2: In my opinion learning the language is going to be your 2nd biggest thing. You need to understand Japanese at a business level to work for a Japanese company, and since you are young youll not only learn it at a faster pace, but also its giving you more time so you dont have to rush. (for the last 3 months ive been doing 5hrs a day of straight japanese language study because im short on time)
If you want more specifics, or have additional questions and what not ill be more then glad to help out here.
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First, you seem to have some infatuation with Japan regarding anime. This, itself, is not a problem. That you want to prepare for a possible execution of this dream is great. My advice based on my own experience is: Prepare with Japanese language instruction in high school and certainly at the college level. Pick a college that has a standing exchange student agreement with a Japanese school. Apply for that program and let that be the vehicle to get you over to Japan first. These are usually one year programs. If you get into the exchange program you will actually have been accepted into a Japanese University. This is key. After you graduate apply for a Monbusho graduate school scholarship at the consulate or embassy. It’s two years and fully paid with stipend. This is another fantastic opportunity so good luck and long live anime.
Now focus on studying Japanese. When it will be time to go to university, check if you can do a year as an exchange student at least it will prepare you a bit to what life in Japan is like.
You might want to consider your subject of study carefully, go for something that is in higher request in Japan.
Going for a job in art/manga/animation is not impossible, but you will need to work a lot and be talented. Trash Taste podcast did an episode with a French animator in Japan, you should check it, I can get you the link if you cannot find it.
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Learning Japanese and being able to translate. Would be the Best thing you could do at this point and open a lot of doors. Also learn about Japanese culture