There are quite a few websites that act as clearinghouses of job advertisements. These are very useful in providing a quick overview of the kinds of job available. Some of them provide other useful information too. All of them are worth looking at — be aware that some job ads will show up in more than one place, so expect some duplicates.
The Visa section on the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs website has all the official information about Japanese immigration, visa requirements and so on. This includes entering Japan, applying for visas and other important topics for foreigners interesting in working in Japan.
There are a lot of organisations specialising in recruiting for jobs in Japan. Here are some of the ones I have used. I have dealt with some of these companies personally — for example, I went to see Access in Sydney before I went to Japan. For most of them, my experience is limited to reading their website. Most will give you at least some useful information about finding work in Japan, or even background infgormation about working in Japan.
I investigated a lot of recruitement companies before and fter my arrival in Japan. Here I’ve listed websites for the companies that I actually met in person.
My search for work in Japan really started when I arrived in the country. When I got to Japan I got in touch with as many recruiters as I could. I had some contacts given to me by friends, and I looked on the Web and in magazines and newspapers for others. I went to see most of them. Some of them never contacted me again after the initial meeting, but a few were quite helpful. Four in particular were particularly helpful and persistent and got me some good job interviews, including the job I eventually took. Continue reading “Useful recruiters” »
I contacted a few recruiters from Australia before I went to Japan. The ones that said anything all said the same thing: it would be much easier to look for a job while over there. This is true even for the recruiting firms that have branches in both Japan and Australia; they seem to operate pretty much independently.
Many foreigners work as English conversation teachers while they’re in Japan. For many people, the work is not too demanding and it gives them the opportunity to travel within Japan during holidays. To be a language teacher, most people need just two qualifications: Continue reading “Teaching jobs” »
I spent time in 2002 looking for a job in software development in Tokyo. Along the way, I also came up with a few other possibilities. This is a summary of my findings.
Foreigners staying in Japan longer than 90 days need to obtain a Certificate of Alien Registration, also known as an Alien Card. It’s easy to get, but I had to get mine updated several times. If you leave the country without a visa and re-entry permit, they take away your alien card and you have to get another one when you return. Then, when your visa status changes (e.g. you get an extension or finally get your work visa) you go back and they put more stamps on it. I spent a lot of time at the Alien Registration counter in my local ward office in Shibuya.
When you enter Japan, you will probably be on a 90 day tourist visa exemption. Holders of certain passports (e.g. Ireland) can get this extended by an extra 90 days. You must leave the country before your exemption runs out, but you can return straight away and get another 90 days. Some people worry that the the immigration people will eventually get suspicious if you keep doing this, but I have also heard of people who have done it five times with no problems.