Why do you want to work in Japan?
 

I see a lot of people, here and other places that want to work in Japan. I've never understood why. Here in Norway workdays are 7,5 hours long, 5 days a week, and in my field of study (accounting) the average monthly salary is 5000 USD. In Japan you have to work a lot longer than that and sometimes during weekends for less money. This is why I've never understood why people want to work there.

So they can get a work visa and live there.

There can be a variety of reasons. Probably the most common reason would be to help enable them to live there -- as JayT said. I don't have much personal experience on the matter, but I've heard that Japan's work standards are no joke, and I have little reason to believe otherwise. Anyone that would consider getting involved in it should have a realistic idea of what to expect. And, I would doubt the majority of those who dream of it do.

Depends what your motivation is. I don't understand people with no real incentive to work in Japan other than "zomg, I love Japan".
I want to work out there, but neither long term nor for a vague reason. I want to improve my Japanese to work towards other long term goals, and I've hit a stage where immersion would be the most beneficial to do this. I also want to teach English and gain experience in that capacity. I could go to other countries, but it would be less beneficial to go outside of Japan as I could easily wind up in an area where I speak no language of any use and have even less access to Japanese. I also have a lot of friends living in Japan; I have contacts there who would support and help me. Outside of the UK, working in Japan just makes the most sense.

English teaching is an exception.

You can live pretty well as an English teacher.

For me, the lure is if I'm working in Japan, I'm living in Japan. It's as most people have posted here already. I am very much in the category that Columbine state, the 'zomg, I love Japan' category. lol

I certainly never wanted to work in Japan for the sake of the work, it was just a means to live here. My wifes and my combined income here is quite a bit less than what I alone earned in Australia. So it definitely wasn't for the money! My lifestyle here though has been incredibly good and was the main reason I wanted to move here and why we've stayed here so long. And frankly we save more money here than we ever managed in Australia. Living in Hokkaido is very cheap. I now live in the place that I used to save up all year to holiday at. It's great! :vsign:

I'd work in Japan to keep my visa, but there's more benefits to doing that rather than just being able to stay in Japan. There's learning the language at the source, experiencing the culture, etc. It's why I go to school here; for the visa which opens other doors.

In the seventh grade, one of my greatest friends went there. I don't remember her name, but I'm going there to go find her!

Err. So she was one of your greatest friends yet you don't remember her name...? I'm sorry but