Reality of Working In Japan 🇯🇵
Ever wondered if you should work in Japan? Let me answer all your questions!
🌙 🌸 Use Code "SEERASAN" to get $5 off your #Sakuraco box team.sakura.co/seerasan-SC2403 today! Experience Japan from the comfort of your own home!
Follow me on Insta! bit.ly/Instagram-Seerasan
✰ Support me on Patreon ☺︎
/ seerasan
🎵 Use my referral link for a 7 day free trial of Epidemic Sound: share.epidemicsound.com/c5bysc
💛 CHAPTERS:
00:00 Working In Japan
00:52 Overtime work
1:23 Culture Shock
2:15 Work Schedules
4:02 What I love & hate about my job
5:41 Visa
7:01 How long are business trips?
8:21 Can I submit my resume to any company?
9:13 Favourite work trip
10:07 Jobs other than ENGLISH TEACHING
11:09 Work Commute
12:04 My Creative Passion
12:44 Career Growth in Japan
13:39 Sick Leave & Paid Leave
15:27 Work Lunch Options
16:02 Health Care
17:11 Work Contracts
17:59 Work Benefits
18:46 My Future Plans (work)
19:35 Japanese Business Custom - OMIYAGE
21:24 Start-ups vs. Corporate Companies
22:09 Will I work in Japan long-term?
22:24 How I got my Japanese Work Visa
22:59 Is it expensive working in Japan?
25:04 Good jobs in Japan
26:03 Salaries in Japan
26:30 Best jobs for foreigners
26:54 Can I work at Tokyo Creative?
27:26 9-5 hours in Japan
28:08 Learning curve
29:06 JLPT Requirements
30:17 Do I regret working in Japan?
32:38 How many jobs have I had?
33:31 Are Foreigners Treated differently?
35:00 Complimenting my Japanese
35:57 Analysing a job offer
37:09 Japanese Pension
Let me know if you've worked in Japan before and what your experience is, or if you're planning to come here for work! 🌙🌸Use Code "SEERASAN" to get $5 off your #Sakuraco box team.sakura.co/seerasan-SC2403 today! Experience Japan from the comfort of your own home!
I am currently considering coming to Japan to start a small business. Do you have any insights on entrepreneurship in Japan ? My idea would be to open a wine bar in Shimokitazawa or a similar area. I am going to start working on a Business Plan soon to find out how are my chances of success.
I'm American and I work in Tokyo. Never an English teacher or creative type nor model. I work in legal. It really depends what type of work people will do and companies they work for. This is just my experience and it will vary depending on who people ask. I work at a major tech company. Big brand that everyone in Japan knows. Some of the things you mentioned about OT and work schedules is true to some extent. I don't do OT. My company values high performers and having a good rapport with senior management is beneficial. Yes, there are many managers who are flexible and some that are not. Japan is no different. I sometimes start my day at home and go to the office after lunch. Other days, I do the typical 9-6pm at the office. Most working days are ordinary. I'm not hanging out at Shibuya everyday or every week. My advice for people wanting to work in Japan, forget almost everything you learned about work in your home country. Just be professional and don't be opinionated or ramble about how it is in your country. Japanese don't like anything remotely negative or listen to how you hate XYZ person or company. Not only is learning the language good but understand that there are interpersonal lessons and social cues to learn here too. Also, your foreigner friends will always understand you better than any Japanese would. Especially when you need to vent or need a helping hand because it will happen. Don't ignore opportunities to make friends with other foreigners too. Learn the routines of Japanese life and you'll be ok. Good luck to whomever reads this.
Sera san, does having a master's degree from a Japanese university help to get a job in Japan? Thanks in advance
what company do you work for? or did i miss that somewhere?
Regarding the pensions: A friend lives and works in Japan right now and it seams that Japan and Germany have some kind of agreement where the work-time counts towards your pension regardless where you'll take it. E.g: If he stays in Japan forever the years before (in Germany) will count as if he was in Japan and if he comes back to Germany his years in Japan will count as if he never left Germany.
it's very country dependent, too. For example, I work in Korea and the US and Korea have an agreement where when I leave the country for good, I can withdraw my pension no problem. However, I have friends here from the UK whose country does not have that agreement with Korea and they are basically in the same situation where they won't be able to withdraw their pension when they leave. They would have to wait until they are 65 and then withdraw it from Korea.
I didn't know that! Time to take my few belongings and move to Japan!
Already worked 8 years in Germany and I am going to move to Japan this Fall. Would you please point me to the right direction , where I could read up some more on this topic??
Do you know if Belgium and Japan has the same type of agreement?
UK has similar arrangement with some countries
“Maybe I’ll pass away before I become old” damn someone give seerasan a hug
As someone who is set on moving to Japan in the very near future, I greatly appreciate this video. I think the work culture is one of the things that scares me the most about moving there but hearing a more balanced perspective made me less anxious, so thank you!
So a 60 hour workweek while getting paid for 40 hours is normalized ? That is insane. Nothing Japan has to offer would be worth that for me.
They have Handmade Udon for $7
😂 @@auroraflash
No. Those amount of overwork hours are on a monthly basis, not weekly. So one hour per day maximum, and it's not like it is the case in every company. However, it is ordinary to come to the office in advance (not just not late).
If you are talking about overtime work being already a part of contract (minashi zangyo), there's misunderstanding. Minashi zangyo is a part of your work contract that guarantees you the said hours (e.g.20hs) of overtime pays, no matter the length of your actual overtime in a month. Even if you did not have any overtime in a month, you will still get paid for the amount worth 20hs overtime. If you go over 20hs of overtime, you can get paud for the additional overtime you did. It's just a way to share a common expectation regarding overtime in the company.
When I think of my favorite videos you have helped make Kochi really sticks out to me too! You all seemed so relaxed and just having a good time.
Seerasan, thank you for sharing your personal experiences and being so honest and transparent. No doubt your insight and advice will benefit those who are looking to work/live in Japan. Keep up the good content! You’re absolutely killing it. Would love to hear about your working/living experiences in Australia!
I never skip your videos - this is so helpful especially as we’re moving to study in Japan very soon! ありがとうごあざいます!
Yes, we want to hear about your part-time work situation. Thank you for telling us about the workings of Japan. Looking forward to more...
Really great video. Very helpful. Thank you for keeping it real and sharing your stories and experience.
That’s been so helpful, thank you for being honest!
Thanks for this guide!
This was so insightful! Thanks so much!
Thanks for doing this. Very informative.
All the super dry cans, going all out for the bit. Perfect
This video really puts a lot of things into perspective. Thank you
You are seriously growing so much as a KZheadr! Your authenticity and positivity (even when tackling difficult subjects) really shines through. Found this video very enriching, thank you
Thank you so much 😭💞
Starting intro 🙂Great Q&A with various working topics!
Very informative and entertaining Q&A!
These types of videos are very insightful! 😊
Please do not take this as an offense, I truly enjoy your travel videos, but this was a very relaxing Sunday morning house cleaning ambiance video for me. Thank you very much for your really relaxing content.
Clean to your heart’s content with my videos, all good 😂
Really interesting video - one thing that comes through loud and clear is that you are able to analyze and break down all the points of interest in this general topic; very thorough and complete. It also is clear that you can put together an interesting narrative. I just sat through 40 minutes on a subject that interests me but it not likely that I will, at my stage of life, ever work in Japan. All this being said, I think the most important point you made was regarding salaries and future wealth needed to support yourself. Perhaps you may want to think about a business that will allow you to earn in AUD or USD that can still provide you with a connection to Japan. It is certainly clear that tourism in Japan is a booming business and will likely remain so. As well, for companies that will do business in Japan or with Japanese suppliers, perhaps there are opportunities to serve their requirements. Best of luck.
Its my dream to move to japan. I have a 14 year old so once they are out of highschool i can really think about it 😊 Much love from Arizona 💜💜
Saraaaaah! Thank you so much for this video! I'm gonna leave for Japan in September for a position in the Japanese/German Tourism Information in Tokyo, and your video comes at exactly the right time 🙏
Good luck with your new position! Sounds like a fun & exciting role ☺️
You are so cool!! Thank you for sharing all your tips and experiences :)) all the best!
Honestly one of the most comprehenvisve and best vids I've seen on the subject, I've somehow missed that you had you own channel, subscribed!
Thank you! :)
Australia's minimum yearly income is around $46K(AUD) and some Baristas are earning $62K(AUD)
So interesting! Learnt loads! 😊
This is an incredibly informative video! So glad I found your channel!
13:11 I’ve recently switched to part-time at my ekaiwa to have more time to do what I’m passionate about. While that move was a long time coming, I’m just going to take things as they come and take on your mentality ❤
Yay I finally found your channel! Great to see more content from you, you're so knowledgeable but rarely get a chance to show it at TC
I love your unique way of vlogging!
Thanks for the video Sarah. I feel way too many people think every job is like your dramatization at the beginning. Thanks for clarifying that
Excellent video. Contemporaneously insightful. Clearly, much has change since I lived in Japan in the 1990s.
Loved the first Sakura Treat Box and now can't wait getting the second, night-time, one. Really looking forward to the huge packet of Mochi! 😋 And more of the beautiful real cherry blossom tea . Shared the last one with my 'bestie' 😁
Great video, thank you!
Great and comprehensive Q&A!
Your hair is super pretty btw, fits you perfectly!
Thank you! ☺️
Literally got up when your diffuser beeped to check my 3d printer but luckily only took a step before you'd said it was your beep 🤣🤣 Interesting video! I've always wondered how accurate some of the generalizations are
The robe with the ears was adorable
Very informative video. Thank you.
i went to japan last year for 3 month .It was to visit my family and i studys japaneses in language school. It was fun i meet alot nice ppl. I will going back in japan but not for living to many cons for me personnaly but i do like the service are top tier i was sicks one day and i went to doctor and did some test and got medication and ive recovered after couple days. i feel really safe.
I loved this video, thank you for being so honest and respectful. I feel that KZhead is filled with Japan bashing, for whatever reason. Thanks for giving both the pros and cons but also giving context compared to other countries, not just villainizing this imperfection of Japan.
Thank you 🥲💞 Japan is an amazing place, but of course everywhere has its positive & negatives.. hope I can continue to accurately share this! :)
Thanks for this video Sarah, really informative and interesting to learn about the reality of working in Japan. I have a broader question about productivity. How are you managing to ring-fence time to film and edit your own videos for youtube in addition to working full time at TC? Are you essentially having to sacrifice loads of your evenings/weekends? If so how do you ensure you achieve a good work life balance? A few weeks back you seemed to manage to film, edit and publish your snow day in Tokyo video within the space of about 12 hours and I'm still absolutely amazed at how on earth it was possible to do this at that speed, when it was filmed quite late at night?! Keep up the good work. Loving all of your videos. 🙂
I've thought about living in Japan before. The thing that scares me the most is the work life balance. It's great to hear an authentic perspective. Thanks for sharing. Love the videos :) As someone who also travels for work I understand what you mean. It is exciting to go to see different places and experience the culture. On the other hand it does mess with your sleep and diet and it's hard to feel healthy. I think I need more discipline to keep myself in balance when I travel. But there's only so much you can do to avoid jet lag. In my case it's traveling from Europe to North America.
In last 3 years of my previous job, I had to work with people from a certain country of south asia and it was the most exhausting time in my whole career so far. The work culture was just not compatible with Swiss work culture and I ended up quit my job after working 9 years for that company. Nevertheless during that time I started to appreciate how important a good work-life-balance is and for me its know higher criteria than the salary. With my current contract overtime is covered by a higher salary but I get 10 compensation days additionally, but as my contract is based on annual working hours I'm not bind to fixed working time. So the work-life-balance with my current job is very good, they really want to keep their employees obviously 🤣🤣
@@AgentOrangeCH Surely in Switzerland the work life balance is pure gold.....Greetings from Ticino.
@@bugrist I mean not everything that glitters is gold and thats ofc also the case for Switzerland. But due to the fact that we have a "lack" of professionals in Switzerland, companies doing a lot to provide a good work life balance to their employees in terms of social benefits. Saluti da Lucerna
Currently working on my bachelors in Japanese and minoring in business administration, and I'm hoping on doing my MBA in Japan. Thank you for always reminding me that my goals are possible :)
Keep working at it, you can achieve your goals!!
I’m halfway through a university year abroad in Tokyo and it’s my first time in Japan although I’ve wanted to visit for many years. I absolutely love my life here and am planning on returning after I graduate even though I know it will be a lot harder than this current year studying here. I am looking at options but I wouldn’t even mind teaching english for a bit, to get my foot in the door here. I know it’s easier to find another job while in Japan already and unfortunately I can’t get a working holiday visa. I just love how easily accessible my hobbies are here, food is easier for me here, my preference for being alone isn’t seen as weird, and I blend in quite well with society. I hope everyone finds a place they belong in this world and can make it work for them!
This video was super helpful! I've been really nervous about contacting Japanese companies for work because it feels like my Japanese isn't up to par. But at the same time my studies have slowed a bit being in my home country. Hopefully I'll be able to work there soon :)
That was really interesting, i'll need to watch out for the video of the same topic that you do on Patreon.
Sorry if it wasn’t clear, I would only be answering questions in text format there (as of now)! But maybe in future I can do a mini Q&A video about it 🙏
@@seerasan Oh ok np.
Thank you sara for a very informative video. I lived and worked in Japan in mid '70's. I was married to a Japanese, and for one full year studied the tea ceremony. I wondered what it was like to live and work there now - and you answered it beautifully. For me, at that time, I loved Japan, but I found the racism excrutiatingly hard to take. As a previous person commentated, Japan us great to visit on a holiday, but I found to go any deeper than that ( for example being married to a japanese) uncovered a rather unpleasant side of their culture. Studying the tea ceremony, we would often hear the comment " being a foreigner how can you hope to understand the Japanese heart". In conclusion, I love Japan, but I am glad I dont live and work there. Thanks again Sara for a really well done video.
What you’re talking about is xenophobia not racism and while it’s still there it’s gone way down in todays version of Japan. If you can speak moderate Japanese the younger generations literally don’t give a fuck
We have been subscribing to the Sacuraco snack box since last year 🙂We are now way more confident in picking random snacks at conbinis. At conbinis I ususally pick snacks I've never seen before to figure out what it is, as I've found most snacks in the Sakuraco boxes to be very good.
I love the Sakuraco snacks! But would be lost without the booklet. Sadly, I do not have any Japanese language skills.
@@wasabigirl2004 That's exactly why I pick something random I've never had before. To learn the hard way 🙂I can't read Japanese either, but I try to look at the package to get an idea of what it is before buying it. Somtimes it's a wasabi hot snack that makes my sinuses clear out LOL
@@jan-ovepedersen5764 Haha wasabi to clear the sinuses... Seen the KZhead clip "Fran Eats Wasabi!" ?
@@wasabigirl2004 No yet 🙂
Thanks for sharing :)
About the pension payments, there is a form you can fill once you leave Japan for good, but the amount is fixed according to the time you worked. It's not much, but it's something. There are also pension exception forms you can apply to so it's not deducted from your paycheck at all.
Ganbatte seerasan let's go!!!!!!
Great video, very interesting and I'm not even wanting to work in Japan! 😅
Seera’s eyes are really beautiful.
Informative video
I am a foreigner working for an Aussie company and I hire people so I know how much wages employees get there in General and after hearing what you told us about $20-40K /year that is really not good. Doing in Sydney or Melbourne what you're doing now would earn you at least A$70K/yr but what I like about you is you're happy with your choices and you are content and grateful. 👏
Great video, took your time and explained everything. Good work God bless✨
I love your sparkly eyeshadow 🥰
Your lucky! My dream is to go to Japan. Im from Montreal Canada and life is just too expensive. I need to save up so much money but one day I hope I will go 🥹. I love your videos! ❤
That last part on pension… scary. Yes you love the country and the work, but when you’re old priorities will change and you will have to survive with what you saved. Split a part of your salary and obligatory saved it. Look up some “low risk investments” that could grow in the long run so you have something to fall on and put that money there.
As strange as it may sound, I watch your videos not only because you talk interestingly about Japan, but to improve my English. Your pronunciation is very good, although you speak quite quickly. Thank you for the time you spend for us.
Just saying hi! I'm enjoying your video so I wanted to comment :) I'm in Korea, so I can relate to you a bit!
As a fellow Aussie, don’t stress over super…when we are old enough to need it, the government will have siphoned it out by then and spent it! Instead look at buying some crypto (Bitcoin or Solana) and use that as your 20-30 year long term investment strategy. You will get much better returns in the long run and you are also future proofing your yen/dollars. Great vid!! My wife and I are heading to Japan in three days time, CANT WAIT!!!
感謝分享 Thank you for sharing.
Bahahahaa!!! All that DRY!!!!! I love it!
I feel like Japan is very similar to Italy when it comes to wages and pensions. However we have it so much better for paid/sick leave and overtime work. Still I'd like to live and work there just for the experiences as you said. Thank you for the video! It was very interesting : )
Love the braid
Working in Greece is 72 hours (40 are the legal paid 😢) and work for 6 days so Japan is a heaven.
12h for 6 days?That's insane.😮😮
compared to japan, greece is like for poor people
Why is Greece still poor then?
LoL BS. I don't believe that for a second.
Ya’ll be working 72 hours and still have a shit GDP?
Many thanks for another great video Sarah. Definitely enjoy the opportunity to travel as part of your work. It's something I quite miss compared to what I had in the past. As for your concerns on the future and having enough for retirement, if you haven't read the book before, take a look at Robert Kiyosaki's "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". There's a lot of wealth creation concepts from that book... some which may work for you and some won't. But I think the concept of passive income is one you could take away (and could work quite well with your current focus on content creation). In short, whilst superannuation is nice, it's essentially a finite amount of funds you draw down on during retirement... and if you're unlucky enough to live long, that super may not be sufficient. Assets that bring in passive income though, that's an infinite source of income (in theory). The challenge is building up that passive income.
Crazy amounts of overtime and sleeping in my office regularly... Flashbacks to working for a startup in California in my 20's...
Really interesting, and backups a lot of things I’ve heard. As someone who works in the UK, it is hard to square the work life balance we have here as opposed to that in Japan. I guess in your 20s and 30s it is easier to focus on work, but it does get quite jarring as you age.
hmmm ... " your mileage may vary " ... to work in STEM, especially at multi-national companies like Sony is actually great ... factory work in Saitama is not hard but it's just a really long day. The neat thing about the large companies is that sometimes they have company supported housing so, like for JR East, if you have a family, it's one less thing to stress about.
My first business trip to Japan for a previous company in 2012 was 10 weeks!
Good sharing 👍🥰
Seerasan, as mentioned by a couple commentators, the pension situation is very country dependent. As someone living "overseas" myself, I fully understand your concern about the frustrating situation. You should check and see if there is any ongoing effort between the two countries to establish an agreement so that you get back what you deserve, even as a foreign national; if not, it's no a bad idea to raise the concern to appropriate authorities to kick start the effort, obviously not just by yourself but collectively for the sustainable relationship between the two countries. Given the geographical proximity and the good relationship between the two I'm a bit surprised that Australia and Japan doesn't have an agreement comparable to the one mentioned above about Japan and Germany. I know there is similar agreement between Japan and the U.S. It's indeed a bit strange to me, given the working holiday program exists between Japan and AUS. Anyways, I enjoy very much your videos of you enjoying life and paying respect to the culture in Japan. Being a good citizen, I hope you continue enjoying the quality of life, and hopefully the wage improves and catches up (the country has stagnated way too long for everyone in the country in this respect...).
Lot of Stresssssss🤧😴
Hi seerasan. Thank you for your videos, I love watching them and learning about Japan. I saw your video from Kyoto, where you highlighted where to watch Sakura in bloom. Me and my wife are going to Osaka in early May, we used your video to find spots to visit in Kyoto 🙂. In Norway we have 25 days paid leave (vacation) a year. Out of the 25 days, you are allowed at least 15 days paid leave in a row if you want to (by law). Some employers allows for 20 days in a row. I work for the municipality, and we are allowed to take a 20 days leave. Norway have legislation regulating leave and paid leave, so every employee in Norway have the same benefits when it comes to paid leave. I'm turning 60 yo next year, as a benefit I will get 30 days paid leave, which I will enjoy until retirement at 67 yo. Where I work we have a system for sick days. During the last 365 days, I'm allowed to have a maxximum of 24 paid sick, and maxximum 7 days in a row, without the need to see a doctor. I do not have to use my paid leave when I'm sick. Norway have a common health care system paid by the tax payers. To visit the doctor I have to pay a fee of $21USD or 3250JPY, rest is covered by the state. Detal care is not included in the health care system, dental care is very expensive in Norway. Retirement is flexible, by law, I can retire between the at age of 62 and 75, but 67 is the most common retirement age. Monthly pension will be lower if you retire early, and higher if you retire late. If I retire at age 65 I will not loose on the monthly pension pay. If I work longer I will get more monthly pay for each year I work after 65 yo. Me and my wife will for sure travel more to Japan with the extra week of paid leave 🙂
I don,t know what types of interest a savings account have in Japan or Australia. But one of the safest bets, in general, for growing money (talking about saving for retirement), is to invest in an index fund. World economy is constantly raised in value and because of that an index (it is kind of, the collective value of the stocks, in the market that is covered). Since it is the collective, it wont be as affected, if one area is bad at the moment (lets say housing). If you buy the right stock, you can earn more. But in general people are bad at timing their investments and very few are able to beat the index if you look at a long time horizon.
wait you guys save money ? I'm doing working in Japan wrong lol
@@CaimAstraeaI don't live in Japan. But yes, if you want have money to live off, when you stop working, then in my country you need to save some money. It didn't use to be like that, but we are in the same type of situation like in Japan, where we have a huge generation of people that are old and they are using up more money than the pension system can handle. So younger people will have to save themselves, if they are to have enough money, to live off, for the last couple of years alive.
People, especially foreigners often say the working environment and conditions in Japan are terrible, or foreigners who've never worked in Japan say so based on the stereotypes they've heard. I've worked as IT R&D for a traditional Japanese company and a foreign company in Japan, and also in the US, but the working environment and conditions were not much different and all good enough. And I mostly work remotely now. Regardless of Japanese or foreigners, those who blame Japan for their dissatisfaction with their workplaces should simply change jobs. These days, unlike about 20 years ago when it was called the ice age, it's much easier to change jobs and get paid more (if you have the required skills ;-).
🎵Work work work work work🎵🎵
In regards of the pension thing, you should work a remote job for an Australian company and simply live in Japan.
Hii Sarah, maybe you could look into investing to in the future use it as a form of pension. That's what I'm doing in the same situation as yours, as I'm probably not retiring in the country I'm currently living in. Great content as always!! :)
51k subs is quite good 🎉
Great video. Japan is a polite place, so when your boss 'suggested' you wear make-up, they are actually telling you to so.
Wow I can’t believe how low the remuneration is in Japan compared to Australia!! Experienced engineers are easily 6 figures in Aus.
Seerasan, I'm pretty sure you can get what you paid into the pension paid back after you leave Japan. Also, a lot of countries (including Australia) have recipricol pension agreements. I'd be interested if you could do a video on this. Take care!
In terms of career path progression, the glass ceiling for foreigners is definitely something that should be considered, especially if you work for a Japanese company.
Yeah on the flip side there are other fields /positions that are quite well paid that they exclusively look for foreigners (mostly native English speakers) for
I guess for content creators being able to one day have your own successful channel will bring in the serious moolah… be the boss
The part of this video that really interested me was about your work life in Japan. If I may, I'd like to offer my take on working overtime to that unhealthy degree and why, if I'm honest, I'd only do it cheerfully for four reasons: 1) If it was a short term help for an appreciative employer; to cover sickness leave, sudden resignations & staffing issues, other unplanned for business upheavals that are not forecast to last indefinitely. 2) If I knew they appreciated it and that I'd get a reward of some kind, some acknowledgement. Employees on the whole are THRILLED when their boss calls them into the office and tells them to pick any day next month to have as a paid day off as a surprise token of gratitude. Things like that are terrific incentives to work harder as you feel seen and appreciated. 3) If I'm self-employed! 4) If I'm paid REALLY well and actually get something out of only sleeping 3 hours a night and dedicating my existence to a corporation/someone else's business. For a modest salary in a dead-end job?! No chance. (I'm sure I don't need to add that I've worked very hard in my career with little to no thanks so the above is my 'line in the sand', "going forward". )
As I am planning on working there after graduating I really need this to prepare myself
While the US on average definitely has a higher salary when adjusted for exchange rates, the costs of living, in particular housing takes up a much larger portion when compared to Japanese CoL. Complicated topic for sure but many Americans are one medical emergency away from bankruptcy or one missed rent payment away from homelessness. Personally I would only work in Japan as a transfer (multinational reassigned to Tokyo to keep the US salary). But for now I am fortunate to be able to visit multiple times. While working in Japan under a Japanese company does not seem to be as financially alluring, there are a lot of benefits that are taken for granted; nationalized healthcare, accessible public transit, lack of violent crime, etc.
I really hope to be able to get a work visa after learning Japanese (will be in Japan on a 2 Year Student Visa starting next week) but I'd actually prefer getting a job with a European or American company hopefully getting close to my home countries (Germany) contracts like getting at least 24 days of off work instead of the 14 that are usual in Japan and as a non alcoholic I also don't wanna be forced to go drinking with my boss and coworkers.
if you are military/federal employee, take advantage of working here in Japan for a US agency getting paid dollar $$$. Avoid all the visa issues as a SOFA member and the crazy overtime culture.
@10:45 A decade ago, I did consider a couple of software developer jobs over there. Non-artistic jobs (including advertisement and management) described in this video can be very different. Experience when you enter are also very different. In general, long unproductive office "work" is something you should expect, along with more bureaucracy and unhelpful managers is the normal, very similar to the US, Russia, China and undeveloped countries. But, not all companies are the same, they can be radically different. Immigration, like everywhere in Asia, if you are not looking like a 30s German, expect troubling questions from that area migration mentality. I might sound negative, but it is not that different from other countries with a lot of accumulated wealth and right-wing conservative governments for decades as is the case with China, Russia and the US. One last thing, in the tech sectors the language is not a big issue in the beginning, but learning conversational Japanese when there in the first year or two will help a lot should you decide to have a career, and not just a bullet point in your bio, but that applies to all countries.
In Finland I work 37 hours per week, you need to use accrued overtime within 3 months if you accue too many extra hours. I think you need to stay within -10 and +30 hours. Your boss will call you up if you don't use them up. I work 8-16, but work is flexible. Meetings are between 9-15, and we need to be working between 9:30-14:00. We can work only between 6:30-21. Other times the HR/boss will make an intervention. Same goes for weekends. Overtime is an exception and usually paid double. We can work remote if we want. I get 30 days (6 weeks) holiday annually plus 10ish public holidays. After 15 years in government, I get +8 days more holiday.
On top of this, we get like an extra 60% salary in June for holiday money. We can exchange some of those into extra holiday. Then you can have 5-10 extra holiday if you don't need the extra money.
I'm currently waiting for my interview results for a Japanese tech company. I'm not a fan of overtime and I'm kinda scared that I'll lose my personal life by working for a Japanese company. I hope everything works out well.
Doesn't seem too bad, I only work 60- 70 hr weeks
What if you want to set up your own business?