Topic: Japan Discussion

Not to foreign gaijins, trust me on that. Plus a lot of animation in Japan is being outsourced last I heard, and apparently those that aren't are very competitive.

Hmm, well I wanted to have this conversation to offer serious advice, but nobody is talking and its really late here. I'm going to bed.

If you're really serious about coming to Japan, I can offer real advice, and tell you how things really work as far as immigration, how visas work, best ways to learn the language, things to avoid (as far as ways of pursuing this), and so forth.

If you're just running into this without realizing the big picture of what it meant to move to another country, and think living in Japan just means buying a plane ticket because you want to see anime paradise and check out Japanese girls, it might be a hard wake-up call.

@Tsuchinoko
Do many people in Japan speak English as well as Japanese?

You can't get a visa with a job like that. Like I said, I can give you real advice, not fantasy advice.

@Tsuchinoko
What exactly does it take to get a visa?

Ok what type of Job should I get? and how much would it cost to move there?

What requirments are needed to be a animator @Tsuchinoko?

That's why I wanted to talk to you. I didn't think you seemed like you knew what it actually takes to live in a country like this. Its not the same as when a Mexican immigrant lives in the states, and can just get some restaurant job. You need things like a guarantor, statements for your entree visa, all that kind of stuff. Nearly all jobs in Japan won't even look at a foreigner applicant without at the very least a bachelor's degree from their home country. Even if you could just get some random job like what you mentioned, not speaking fluent japanese, they won't even consider you. In either case, companies like that that hire for part time, they don't sponsor working visas for foreigners. Not even a local business can really do it. Its takes so much money and time to sponsor a worker's permit and visa, only major companies even bother with it.

@Tsuchinoko
I had only briefly considered thinking about moving to Japan someday, but this has shown me that I will need to put a great deal of thought into it. It sounds like I will need to gain some credibility first before I can get a job. If I ever do seriously decide to move to Japan, I will have to do that much further down the road. Thank you for your time.

Even a visit would require quite a bit of planning, IMO. Just saying. 'Cause I'd love to go to Japan for 2 weeks and visit a bunch of places, but I know, both from what people have told me and from my own research, that that would take a lot of preperation.

I'm not trying to dissuade anyone. If you really want to live anywhere (not just Japan, I knew people that wanted to move to Canada, the UK, France, Korea, its all the same, immigration standards are really strict), it takes so much planning and discipline. I think I had the Japan idea in my head for over 5 years before I first got here, but I had already had 7+ years of working experience, I was in college already by that time, and had been studying Japanese seriously already.

If you want something, you'll get it, if its really something you feel you need. I just think from what I hear some of you guys say, you're getting some wrong information. I just want to give you correct information so if you really do want to live here, you can do it the correct way.

oh... I didn't really consider going to college first, because I didn't really want that "edge" or so to speak because I think people look too much at school then real smarts... At least based on my friends who go to college who get praised even though they lack the getting around smarts, in other words I didnt really want to have fake smarts

yep

Ok...but that's the thing, you need that degree to get a job here. That's just the way the world is. Even the easiest way to get here, the way many foreigners who don't speak Japanese use, teaching English, every single one of those companies require a Bachelor's degree (or higher), and several years of job experience. You can argue with yourself about what "real smarts" means, but really, college is where most people really can learn Japanese, it gets you a degree so you can get a job, and hey, even if you wanted to come here through study abroad, you have to enroll in a college, either here or there.

And from what it sounded like, you were going to try to come here on a tourist visa, since you don't have a job in Japan. Those are at the most three months, and you can't really job search on a tourist visa, its not really allowed.

No, you're not dissuading me. I wasn't really sure if I wanted to live in Japan in or not and just wanted to hear about what it was really like. You were just giving me information I hadn't taken into account. Thanks again.

That's good. Also, one other thing to offer. This is something more for me, but even Japanese-speaking foreigners are having a rough time. With the world economy the way it is, a lot of companies, even large ones, are downsizing the amount of foreign workers they are hiring since they are not really going into the international markets as much. I have a friend who works for [can't say] game company, and his company would hire maybe 2-3 dozen foreign workers a year through their intern program, then use the best ones as permanent hires. They might cut that program entirely because [game company] is cutting back and won't be releasing several of their titles outside of Japan, so they won't need a localization or translation team for those games.

Its getting really competitive, so it means I have to work even harder.

@Tsuchinoko
That's very helpful to know. I hope that you do well at your job.

Since its late over there I'll stop asking for now, I'm just unsure about college, since I don't wanna act over confident just because I have a degree...

Anyway, going to bed. Like I said, Japan is an amazing place, and I'm in it like a marriage, for better or for worse, and heaven knows sometimes I do see the negatives, but the positives far outweigh that. I'm more than happy to offer advice on things here, tell stories, but yeah, it takes a lot of time and work, money, patience, blood sweat and tears to even get in the door. Its like that for a lot of countries. I had a friend who tried for years to move to Canada from the States, but he never went to college, really had nothing to offer, no specialized skills or anything.

@Blazerhot The general rule of thumb is, Japanese companies are likely not going to hire a foreigner if a domestic worker can do the job already, and better. And yes, a lot of animation companies are probably downsizing too. But in either case, another commenter said it already, many animation companies do outsource their stuff (even if its just background details, and Japan doesn't do it nearly as much as American or European companies, but they usually outsource to Korea).

Even just having the TV on while studying or something, I've seen animation on TV. I don't really see foreigner names in the credits at all. They would stand out, and I would remember seeing that.

The only one I know about is an American-born film director here, but he's lived here for decades and speaks native-level Japanese. He directed a semi-successful anime film.

I don't know what this over-confident story is. Even in America its becoming really hard to get any sort of job other than fast-food or other entry level jobs without a college degree. A lot of companies aren't even looking at Bachelor's anymore, they want higher. I think you're going to have a hard time looking for a domestic job, let alone Japan, which has much higher standards and is way more competitive a job market than the States.

Something to add...

Best advice I can give, at this moment. If you really want to try living in Japan, and do yourself a huge favor while doing so, go to college. Find a college with a really good Japanese program, and study as hard as you can, and after your first year (since they don't let you in the program in your freshman year in most colleges), enroll in the school's study abroad program. It will really help your Japanese, you get to experience life in Japan without worrying about work (until after you graduate), you can make friends, and in general its a great experience. Its how I first came to Japan.

Its really your best option, and it will give you time and the experience to figure out what it is you really want to do.