How to Move to and Find a Job in Japan! (As a Foreigner) 

Quick clarification! You do not need a college degree for language school (a high school diploma is fine), but if you want a working visa, immigration requires either a college degree or around 10 years or experience in a relevant field!

Aloha from Maui 🌈 Thanks for the very informative video. I am just starting to learn Japanese at 51 and look forward to moving there in a few years after I graduate from University. Never stop learning and embrace life. 😃

I am Japanese. Please work in Japan and help the Japanese economy

Important note about hiring in Japan - is that it's one thing to hire mid-career and is more common now, but a lot of "big" Japanese companies hire straight out of university after their Shushoku Katsudo/Job Hunting in prep for graduating, and a lot of the time it doesn't matter what your degree / major is in they like to mold grads into the shape they want for the company from graduation and hire onwards. So mid-career roles are a thing, but a lot more rare than overseas. On the other hand, Junior roles are plenty if you are going to graduate and have decent Japanese ability

Exhaustive enough and, more importantly, non-sugar-coated overview, very interesting thanks Lyssa. I liked hearing that you have a cool job (from my perspective anyway), but I also thought that you're so comfortable with the camera (and have a lot of smarts and charisma, imo) that I can easily picture you as a top-shark HR recruiter...

It's a lot of people's dream to live in Japan....not necessirily work in Japan.

I believe you may be incorrect. The most common jobs in Japan for foreigners are in construction, agriculture, hospitality, service, nursing and fisheries.

This video is an amazing resource, cheers! (Would definitely be interested in hearing more about those chats!)

If you want to work in Japan, definitely aim for international companies. I have worked for both Japanese and international companies in Japan and it is so much batter working for a international company.

Down to earth, engaging video and very practical advice. Thank you very much.

Great video, keep it up Lyssa!

Thank you for making this video, I really appreciate it ❤

Thanks for sharing its straightforward and super helpful. Thanks again 😊👍🏼

Thank you! That was super informative

thank you for the amazingly in-depth video! this video gave the same and even more information than the result of my months-long research into this topic. i'm currently a jet hopeful and i'm waiting on my interview results, so we shall see what the future holds for me but i'm sure the other ideas you presented are also possibilities. thank you for sharing your story! glad you could find a good change of pace to enhance your quality of life :>

ty for sharing your experience :) this has helped give a great perspective

Your story is literally the exact same feeling I have omg. I’ve been working finance for 3 years (boring unfulfilling work) and now I’m planning to start language school in 6 months

We got a little Lyssa lore!! I'd love to hear more about the part-time jobs. Is the modelling job where you met Sarah? or was that in the language school. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge!!

Thanks for the video, It was pretty informative! I didn't know about working holiday visa, though it look like the applicant usually needs to be below or 30 or 26 (depending on country). Representing 3 as thumb+index+middle is the way Germans do it, and it does indeed look cooler. We start with just the thumb at 1 and work our way down the hand. My favorite kanji is 灰 (ash), since it looks like "the square root of fire."

I appreciate much more now being Argentinian and having the work and holiday visa! I thought every country will have it as well! I’ll be arriving in september with a college degree in PR I’ll definitely be looking for those recruiters!! Great video!

I love to hear more stories about your early life in Japan, thank you for this informative video!, I shall take your advice to heart!

Your video was super helpful thank you so so much 🙏🏾

Your situation resonates with me quite a lot. A mechanical engineer, a couple years out of college, and I'm starting to have those thoughts in the back of my head too. "Is this really all there is to look forward to for the rest of my life?" etc. etc. I'm so glad I was recommended this video. Time to start looking into language schools... thanks!

Wow, I'm already a daycare teacher. Had no idea there was a chance getting a job at a daycare as a foreigner. It's not a job for everyone, taking care of little ones is quite draining, but I do love children... Might look into this further. Thank you for such a detailed video. Loved it and subscribed.

love how organized the video is

Thankyou for your very enlightening feedback. I'm struggling with whether or not it's the right decision for me to even move to Japan to work (I'd be able to do a WHV), go to a language school/work or just continue to visit japan on holiday every so often based on where i am in my life right now. It was nice that your video was really informative and very little cutting.

I grew up as an expat kid in Bangkok, Jakarta, and Singapore in the 90s, where my father worked for the State Department. Returning to the US for college, I found it amusing how different the culture was-less friendly and welcoming compared to Southeast Asia. Experiencing diverse cultures early on shaped my perspective, and I'm grateful for it. Shout out to Bangkok International School. Btw - any native English speaker can get a job anywhere in Asia teaching English. There are so many companies hiring. That’s the easiest way to get a working visa -

Thank you for the fantastic video! It's important to note that the Working Holiday Visa has an age requirement, specifically, applicants must be between eighteen and thirty years old, inclusive, at the time of application.

This is so helpful! I’m moving with a student visa in July, & this is video has been very insightful! Also same feels on the working holiday visa as Filipino 😂

Sounded like a lot of the work options have the hen or the egg issue. they want you if you're allready in japan, but to get to japan you need a job but to get a job you need to be in japan. Also interesting didnt know you worked in IT, just kinda assumed you where a model or something xD (Met you at Ians event we ended talking at the restaurant with Pete)

Such a helpful video! Interested to hear more about the chat host job / teaching classes that you did, sounds like a good way to ease into teaching! Did you have any teaching experience prior? :)

Definitely would like to hear some of your stories from your past jobs there! Thanks for the video.

One thing you missed and should look into are visas for entrepreneurs and investors. Instead of looking for work, if you have some seed capital you can create work. Just like a big company can open up offices and transfer foreigners, you can also have a start-up open up a new business in Japan. I know your focus was on those looking to find jobs, but this is also valid as well.

Your story it’s same as mine and your video was very inspiring, I’m currently on my 6 months student visa 😇

As for Japanese language levels, its important to note that: English teaching usually doesn't require any (unless you are in the country side on the JET program and have very little support system). In IT, some companies need it, some don't. Its also one of the few industries that does not frown on job hopping. Rakuten is a great stepping stone to Amazon for example. There is a LOT of finance IT work here as well. Spend a few years there, then jump "up" to better companies.. For recruitment, its basically a necessity to have "business level" Japanese skills, speaking, reading and writing. You should have at least N2, but most will be pushing you to get at least an average score on N1. You have to interact with the reps from Japanese companies, most of which hired YOU to hire foreigners because they cant speak English. So, once you make connections, you spend the bulk of your time being a business level translator to onboard the new hire into the company.

Thanks for sharing your experience, I am already thinking of moving to he Japan by next year

Very nice Thank you i saw youre blog watching🇵🇭

Great video 😍😍😍

Thank you so much. Your video is very helpful. I want to live in Japan too but not in Tokyo. I’ve thought about going to the language school route too and I will look for a job in IT as well. 😊

I came for a IT project assignment from the HQ of an international company as in-house-consultant to Japan and after project finished basically “stuck” in Japan. Retire in few years after > 20 years being here. I was lucky how it turned out.

love the video, cheers from Cold America!

Thank you for sharing you experience and how you got to Japan this make me believe in my self to go n live in Japan cuz that my goal in the future thank you again 🫶🏽

this vid doing mad numbers for u, ill sub

I just sent my resume on a company here in ph for it staff as my first job. This video is very helpful and relatable coz i want to live in japan too someday to find a mangaka that i can work with. I need to learn nihongo for starters thank you for the vid keep it up maam!

Thanks for this, Lyssa! Insta-sub, for sure. :3

*Thank you for sharing.*

Hi, you can get a student visa for a language school without college degree, and for a work visa, you can try to get it without a college degree if you have 10 or more years of experience on the job you are applying to. Thanks for the info!

I am feeling the mid-twenties crisis of having a great corporate job but not wanting this to be my life forever and have regrets. I really relate to that feeling you had. I wish people talked about it more! What made you realize you needed to make the switch and pull the trigger on moving? I feel like I’ve gone back and forth for months now. Thank you for the helpful video!

For visa, long-term employment, credibility purposes, my best suggestion would be attending a prominent university or graduate school in Japan. Education is how one becomes fluent and acclimatized to culture/society. (This would apply to any foreign country.) For those who are looking for corporate jobs and sponsored work visas, bilingual universities/grad school candidates will often attend events such as the "DISCO Career Forums." The most famous one is held in Boston in fall, but there are similar/smaller events in Tokyo, Osaka, LA, and London. In the Boston event, you will see the most famous Japanese and foreign financial institutions, IT firms, Management Consulting, Accounting firms, etc, etc.

i really enjoyed this video lyssa! your story resonated a lot with me because it's somewhat similar and is what i want to do. i graduated uni in 2022 and did 1+ year of working as an analyst at a company i interned at for 15 months during my undergrad. but in late 2023 i had the same feeling of "i dont want to do this for the next 40 years" and quit my job to apply for a language school starting april. it's kind of scary but im also really excited to go to japan. i hope to study there for 2 years then land a job just like you did. also, curious as to what your japanese is like after the 2 years?

Good video! I have been throwing the idea around lately... I would have to get a Business manager Visa to HSP at his point for it to be worth it.. The problem I am running into is the thought of having to hire people for the reqs... What I do is really technical (Accounting/cybersecurity) and I am unsure how well what i do specifically would play out in Japan.... without first trying to network into Japan from here in the states to begin getting some foothold. I have also been looking into the news of the new Digital Nomad VISA coming in march... I could stay for 6 months out of the year and work remote.

Really informative thankyou. I am a senior datacomms engineer and will be looking for work in that field .I also have 5 years experience teaching English when I lived in Bogota colombia .would love to talk some more if possible

we understand japanese is a difficult language, but the continuous “TRYING” on the learning i feel wasn’t needed in the best way possible! it could be discouraging to some! one can very much learn if they are determined. so we don’t have to keep emphasizing the “trying”.

There is one more useful visa for Americans, the Designated Activities (Long Stay for Sightseeing and Recreation). I think it was originally styled as a rich people tourist visa but, because of the fall in the value of the yen, proving you have about $200k somewhere, like a retirement account, isn't as crazy as it once was. You just need to prove you have this money somewhere. This is good for 6 months to a year. Probably not easy for the early 20-something, but in your 40s, it becomes an option.

What are reputable modeling agencies?

Any chance you'd know what the typical starting salary is for an IT job in a company like yours?? Great video, had a lot of REALLY helpful insights, so thank you!

Hi Lyssa, Thanks so much for the video. I really am struggling with finding recruitment roles etc that don't require business Japanese on linkedin or gaijin pot etc.

Thanks for the advice! What level were you able to speak after 2 years of language school? I want to do language school in a year or two to try and begin my move to JP

Interesting to hear your job stories. Actually Python and Power BI are very familiar ones. Do you manage with basic programming or does job require object programming side of Python? I was just curious and checked European Holiday Work visa and then I noticed that it has age limit 18--30 years (so I am too old for that 🙂) But anyway, it would be nice to hear your stories from your past jobs! I remember you from Sarah's videos!

thank you so much for the video! Definitely helped a lot, i am planing to move to Japan in the future, i have pretty much a similar set path to what you did, i want to go to a language school and hopefully move from it to get employed. Im also on the IT sector and have been working on my country for 4 years so I hope that helps me leverage. One question, you mentioned you extended your stay at the school from a year to two, was this difficult? From how you described it seems it was originally just 1 year (which is what im planning for now). Assuming I need it that may be something i can consider as well

Would enjoy hearing about being your time as a chat host? Seems like a crazy job depending who came in to chat.

another type of job is at your countries embassy. i was in the UK embassy for a few months during the Oympics

It’s going open up for many ppl from other countries in the future ..

Curious about housing once you arrive :O Maybe make a video on that?

Great video :-)

How did you get started with Python? and later on that IT job?

I am feeling the mid-twenties crisis of having a great corporate job but not wanting this to be my life forever and have regrets. I really relate to that feeling you had. I wish people talked about it more! What made you realize you needed to make the switch and pull the trigger on moving? I feel like I’ve gone back and forth for months now.

I was a student last year, when the yen dropped, finding a job that'd extend my visa became even more difficult. I tried the recruiting route but they decided not to hire anyone because of the recession... I want to come back to Japan eventually after getting a further degree in tech but my real goal is to work for one of the law firms.

Thanks for this video very informative and clear. One question, can you specify to your recruiter that you want to work for a company that's more western working culture and use more english?

Is there now a business visa? Where if you set up a business you get a visa to do it 🤔 I got my eye on some ideas in kanagawa

America doesn't have a working holiday visa, because it is reciprocal. They would have to offer the same to Japanese people in the US.

So for me as a network technician, I could still do that in Japan without knowing Japanese? I just need to teach english for a while first? :)

I'm annoyed I didn't know about the working holiday visa until the pandemic and wen Japan opened up I was just over 30 so could no longer use it.

Really really loved the video and your sense of humor, it was highly informative

Just FYI programming and IT are not the same thing, IT usually means systems and network management or cyber security, maybe help desk type stuff

Thanks for the info. Do you know if an associate degree would count or does it have to be a bachelor degree and up? Also I work from home doing cad work for construction companies. Could your job be with a company in the USA or do you have to work in Japan only? Last thing if you please, can you just have enough money so you can retire there and not work at all? Thanks again.

Hello, I have a question. Are people from all countries allowed to enroll in a Japanese learning school? If I wanted a student visa for a 2 year learning program, and I'm from Serbia, is that fine?

Hey Lyssa, thank you so much for the infos! As an IT guy thinking about moving to Tokyo, do you lead a comfortable life with your salary? The pay for an IT job in Japan is quite lower than in Europe and in the US after all, which is what worries me the most.

Hi Lyssa. I actually found your channel from watching @seerasan's videos, and hers by just having interest in being a foreigner living in Japan and her channel coming up in my feed. II've spent a lot of time in Japan, in fact the better part of 2 years in Tokyo when I worked for Toshiba, I recently took my sons to Tokyo last year to visit, and my 21 yr old son fell in love with Japan. He'll soon graduate and is thinking about either taking some gap time there, finding a job there, studying there, or some combination of the above. Your video covered literally all of that. Plus, he's planning to go into IT, so you covered that, too. Your video couldn't have been better. Your video is the first one I've seen that gives actionable advice and actual paths to making living in Japan a reality, I also found your own story really interesting, and would love to hear more on really all the above. Just wanted to say your videos are hitting the mark. Please keep it up, and Thank You!

is there any way to teach without having a 4-year degree or is that a hard stop ?

You can use Wantedly as well to get a job in Japan 🗾

In Australia our working holiday visas come with the requirement to do farm work if they want to extend their visa.

Just for clarification, is it then faster to get your student visa upgraded to working visa vs. applying to working visa directly? 🤔 I assume it must be if the companies prefer it that much over you applying from overseas?

I had no idea that foreign models was a thing in Japan! That's so cool

I was hired from Canada to an Osaka Company, after finding rate of pay I had to think for a few days as I told that to the Company owner, realizeing the Expense compared to wage, I turned it down, beware not all is glitter, we are all different some, like, love, estatic, and some don't

I would just like to point out that the Working Holiday Visa is available ONLY for people between 18 and 30. No others

Very nice and honest video! I'm graduating in Computer Science next year (in Germany) and currently am semi-actively learning Japanese on the side (whenever the time allows for that). Hoping to work in Programming in Japan soon!

I'm coming to Japan on a WH visa this year (sorry!). I noticed you mentioned Mechanical Engineering, I've worked in Engineering for 10 years. Just wondering if you know how easy/difficult it is to get jobs in that line of work.

That new Digital Nomad visa is looking real nice right about now…

I would love to try the language school option! Do you know where I can sign up and how? I always wanted to learn Japanese and I've already got my bachelor's. Don't have $10000 in my bank lol but most definitely something I want to try a year or 2 from now!

Thanks so much for sharing all this information! My daughters both want to move to Japan (we are in Australia 🦘🦘🦘 lol) and live and work there and probably get married there Lol..oh my gosh... Anyways...I do have a question...seeing as you have great connections...what if the applicant to live there has their own small business (successful, of course)... Would that qualify them to be using a working visa, or is there a different one they need? You're really on point with your info and cultural nuances, thanks for sharing.

Just found ur channel and I’m obsessed!!! Queen ❤❤❤❤

Honestly, the best 'How to get a job in Japan' video I've seen. To get a tech job, do most require JLPT certification?

Thank you this helps a lot. I’m planning on moving at the end of the year, and have spent a lot of time figuring out what that will actually look like. My biggest hurdle is I have a small dog that just can’t be taken care of by anyone else (it was severely abused for years before I adopted it) and have already begun the arduous process of animal importing. It’s quite a mess honestly.

What language school did you go to? Are there any you recommend?

How csn you move tk japan before working those jobs it they want you to live in japan? Im american

Is it possible to work in the medical feild in japan?

I have a question for you. I dont have a college degree but a trade degree in welding we call here in Canada a "DEP". Do you know anything about finding jobs in that field in Japan?

Thank you so much for this video! This is actually the first time I've heard of English-teaching daycares, which is great news because I already work in childcare! Can these daycare companies sponsor work visas? Thank you for the insightful video and I love your energy!!

What companies do you recomm3nd thst hire foreigners with no skills you said recruiter jobs?