[tom_tom_tom]

Hello Forum

I'm looking for some help. I'm trying to find out the possibility of finding work in Japan with only basic japanese. My wife is japanese so I think I should be fine regarding a visa. I've been working in renewable energy for the past 6 years in various business development/commercial roles. I know there are jobs (although not as many as in the past) teaching English and working in foreign bars etc but these are not areas I'm keen to work in or where my experience is, and I think I would struggle to support my family on the salaries available for such jobs.

This is a move we would like to do in the next couple of years before our daughter starts school so time is on my side at least.

Any advice would be appreciated like recruitment agents who may help or websites to look at.

Thanks

 

[Nickleback99]

Hello Forum

I'm looking for some help. I'm trying to find out the possibility of finding work in Japan with only basic japanese. My wife is japanese so I think I should be fine regarding a visa. I've been working in renewable energy for the past 6 years in various business development/commercial roles. I know there are jobs (although not as many as in the past) teaching English and working in foreign bars etc but these are not areas I'm keen to work in or where my experience is, and I think I would struggle to support my family on the salaries available for such jobs.

This is a move we would like to do in the next couple of years before our daughter starts school so time is on my side at least.

Any advice would be appreciated like recruitment agents who may help or websites to look at.

Thanks

I would suggest check USAJOBS.GOV and location Japan search all jobs there (Govt) and see if something fits. Then you might qualify for a paid move and possibly a nice housing allowance to live in town as most do.

 

[pandapanda]

How about try posting your CV on Daijob.com and checking the classified section of Japan Times website? Hope this helps.

 

[Raffish_Chapish]

You could work as a recruitment consultant - the money is good and you don't need to speak Japanese in a lot of companies.

What did you do in renewable energy?

 

[tom_tom_tom]

You could work as a recruitment consultant - the money is good and you don't need to speak Japanese in a lot of companies. What did you do in renewable energy?

Thanks for all the suggestions so far.

I worked in project development for offshore wind and now in tidal energy. I was focusing on the commercial aspects of project development

 

[rigger1976]

More info

You could work as a recruitment consultant - the money is good and you don't need to speak Japanese in a lot of companies.

What companies do you know that are looking for a recruiter? and do not need to speak Japanese? Would love to know as I have been looking for work myself.

 

[myrrh]

You could work as a recruitment consultant - the money is good and you don't need to speak Japanese in a lot of companies.

If he wants to work in a Japanese (most likely Tokyo) office as a recruitment consultant on a good salary (i.e., livable even without commission), he will almost invariably need Japanese. Both Hays and Intelligence Global Search are examples of this. (I'd post links to their most recent adverts, but I don't have enough posts total to allow this.) They do pay quite well, but you need either Japanese or Chinese as well as English to qualify. As for exceptions to the language requirement...Michael Page (Japan) is currently hiring with a 5 million yen ~ 7 million yen salary range. The OP would have a difficult time supporting a wife and a child in Tokyo on the lower end of that salary range.

Remember that there is age discrimination in hiring here as well, with professional positions becoming progressively harder to find after 25. Given this, as somebody without Japanese language ability who doesn't want to teach English, the easiest way to get a good professional job in Japan would be to find a position in your specialty at a UK company with a Japan office (and/or Japanese connections), and then get transferred. Not sure if this would be possible in the OP's field.

Finally, be wary of taking a job here with the majority of your income commission-based. Japan (particularly Tokyo) is a very expensive place to live, and your sales opportunities will be much more limited than the bilingual (sometimes trilingual) people working with you. I know a small number of foreigners trying to survive in these positions without Japanese ability. They are all struggling.

My two yen, anyway.

 

[tom_tom_tom]

Thanks Myrrh for your input, it's very helpful. I knew age discrimination was an issue but I wrongly, and naively assumed this was more of an issue for women but I guess this is not the case. It looks like my chances of finding a job to support a family in Japan are limited.

So, I've been pursuing the alternative. My current company has a product with a potential market in Japan. I've been driving this forward (and managed to combine my seniors this is worth exploring) and had one fairly successful initial scoping trip to japan last month and a second trip lined up next week. We will need to find a Japanese company to team up with but going well I'll manage to pull off a transfer at some stage. Chances of success are far from guaranteed but this looks like my best shot.