I want to move back to japan!!! Please Help

Question

I had lived in japan for 5 years. I moved there from Virgina, back in 1999 to 2004. I graduated high school at Zama American. I am really want to move to Ebina Japan. I use to have a a military id when i live there too, because my parents work for department of defense. Is there a way for me to get sponsor so that I can come back to japan. I know now that I would need a Visa. Currently I a Associates Degree in Informaton and Techonolgy,. And i am currently in school for my Bachlors degree. I really want to go back to japan. I really want to teach English, or work in my field of study if possible. Is there anybody looking for a roomate in Japan. [e-mail]

Please feel free to contact me

Answer 1

Sure you can. I'm doing it. I have been here in Japan for almost 20 years. I have set my roots down deep and I have no plans to leave.

First of all, let's talk about your degree. Basically if you have a BA degree you can find work. It would be a lot better for you if your degree were in English, education, linguistics, or TESL/TESOL, etc. I have a friend who has an engineering degree and is here only because he got married to a Japanese girl. He hasn't had full-time work for about 10 years. He is doing the part-time thing, which is working at 10 different schools during the week. An hour here, and hour there. He is making a lot of money, but his schedule is killing him. One reason is that his degree doesn't support teaching English even though he is a native speaker.

Your lack of Japanese abilities is not a problem. It would help, but it is not a big deal.

Full-time jobs are at a premium in Japan, so basically the idea of working at different schools is not really plausible. If you are looking at private English schools, you could do it, but not at public institutions or institutions of higher learning.

As far as salary, you could start at 200,000 a month, then go as high as 500,000 a month in time. When I did the part time thing (for one and a half years) I was making around 350,000 a month but with potential for a lot more but the schedule would have been too hectic.

If you work full-time, you can get full benefits, and they are great. If not, you will have to purchase health insurance from the government, but the percentages are a lot higher than the company insurance. Retirement only comes from full-time positions and the benefits are compiled yearly. So the longer you work full-time, the more you get when you retire.

Bottom line, you can work and live forever in Japan. But where you work will play a large part in your quality of life.

It was easy for me because I had a PhD in Linguistics, and I am married to a Japanese national. I also paid my dues working the hard life path for 5 years.

Now, as far as working in IT, that is a different story.  In order to work in a "non-education" field your Japanese would have to be really good. I assume that since you were here before you studied the language and are probably very good.  You would need to prove your ability by passing the first grade of the Japanese language proficiency test and probably the Kanji proficiency test.

Best of luck to you.

Answer 2

You need to have better English than what you've written to be able to teach English. Most all schools will only accept a native English speaker. With NOVA going bankrupt there are alot of out of work ESL teachers there.

You need a four year degree to qualify for a work visa. And then a solid job offer.

What is your field of study ? Unless you can speak, read and write Japanese at a native level, there are probably few if any jobs available. Jobs will always go to a native Japanese first.

Sorry if I seem negative, but you should know what you want is not going to be easy, if at all. Too many people try to sugar coat things.