Staying in Japan

[Halil]

Hey! I'm new here, so be easy on me. ;:^)

I'm here in Moriguchi, Osaka on a travel visa; I'm looking for a way to stay. Japan is such a nice place. My basic problem is that I never completed a degree. What are some employment Options as far as teaching English(I've done it a few times since I got here), or maybe some other jobs? Also, visa possibilities? I'm here for another month teaching Turkish drum to Bellydancers and their boyfriends, so there are a few Yen involved(shh...), but I really need some ideas. Thanks!

[Tuman]

Selâm Halil.

Japonya'da yasamiyorum ve maalesef sorunun da cevabini bilmiyorum. Fakat benzer bir ugras icindeyiz diyebilirim
Eger ozel ileti ile msnini veya email hesabını verebilirsen bir kac konuda gorusmek isterim.

Esenlikler. . .

[seiki]

is it really that difficult to stay in japan?

[vulgarshudder]

Without a degree your options are very limited. You cannot be hired for an english teaching job without a degree. No getting around that, it is a visa requirement.

The easiest thing would be to marry someone, which might not be that easy.

[seiki]

get them drunk

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

Seiki, don't give people advice like that. It is a bad idea >_< In this type of situation getting someone drunk so they'll marry you should not be attempted, even if you are joking, someone will undoubtedly try it.

I have asked this question before... The best way to get a permanent Visa is to get a degree first. Now in Japan you need a Bachelor's Degree to do just about any job. I am guessing that is one reason why Japan is such an expensive place, since almost every adult that works has been to a college, and is in a trade. That is why schooling is so important over there. Maybe you can get a visa by becoming a student, this will get you a place in the country while you study. Then when you are there, find how to stay and live.

A tourist visa is only for 3 months, and in Japan getting a lady to marry you in that time-span will probably not work....

[Hatredcopter]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

Now in Japan you need a Bachelor's Degree to do just about any job. I am guessing that is one reason why Japan is such an expensive place

That's not really true at all. Japan is more or less the same as most other developed countries with respect to education and working. Japan, like the US and Europe and everywhere else, has their construction workers, janitors, taxi drivers, and all other blue collar jobs. A good education is a very important part on Japanese culture, but that has little bearing on what the Japanese job market is like.

The reason you need a bachelor's degree is not because there aren't any jobs that don't require a degree, but because there aren't any jobs that will qualify for a visa without a bachelor's degree. Basically, Japan wants SKILLED people to come to Japan. They don't want some guy coming over and working at McDonalds. Therefor, the majority of jobs that qualify for a visa are ones that require a bachelor's degree.

As for why Japan is expensive, think of it this way - Japan is about the size of California, and yet it holds approximately HALF the population of the entire United States. There are many various reasons why prices are so high on everything in Japan, but a lot of it has to do with cramming so many people and so much stuff on to one [relatively] tiny island nation.

[SgtBeavis]

Originally Posted by seiki

get them drunk

[thread hijack]

You know, back in 1993, I got my 1979 Celica thru the Japanese car inspection by taping a large bottle of Jack Daniels under the hood of my car.

The bottle mysteriously disappeared but that rust bucket passed inspection..

Sorry for the thread jacking but your comment brought back memories
[/thread hijack]

[Kanji_The_Wanderer]

@Hatredcopter:

I knew that Japan was about the size of California, and it had about half the population of the US. (I found that out by studying up on it) I also know that most of their population is around the Tokyo region correct? They have miles and miles of country-side, but no one makes cities there. Since they use that area for crops and wildlife right? Isn't it cheaper to own a house in the country then to get an apartment in the city?

That makes sense, that they'd want someone to do a good job, and make an addition to their society in a positive way, if they just let any gaijin work, and become a janitor, then the population would be even higher. Now hearing that the prices are so high because of the population makes sense, there are so many people, and those people all need the same things to survive, so if they up the prices, the people have no choice to buy it, since there is such a rush to the stores right?

As far as I had known, you needed a Bachelor's degree to work in any type of trade field.

[Hatredcopter]

Originally Posted by Kanji_The_Wanderer

@Hatredcopter:

I knew that Japan was about the size of California, and it had about half the population of the US. (I found that out by studying up on it) I also know that most of their population is around the Tokyo region correct? They have miles and miles of country-side, but no one makes cities there. Since they use that area for crops and wildlife right? Isn't it cheaper to own a house in the country then to get an apartment in the city?

That makes sense, that they'd want someone to do a good job, and make an addition to their society in a positive way, if they just let any gaijin work, and become a janitor, then the population would be even higher. Now hearing that the prices are so high because of the population makes sense, there are so many people, and those people all need the same things to survive, so if they up the prices, the people have no choice to buy it, since there is such a rush to the stores right?

As far as I had known, you needed a Bachelor's degree to work in any type of trade field.

Roughly 10% of the Japanese population lives in the Tokyo area. Doesn't seem like a lot, but realistically, it is.

I couldn't really tell you about the price of houses in Japan - I never bought one . Apartments are definitely more expensive in Japan than the US, and they do get cheaper the further you are from city centers and/or train stations. In most cases, the only affordable, nice housing is in areas that require workers to commute several hours (over 3 or 4 hours even) a day.

The issue of population in Japan is rather strange. The birth rate in Japan has been plummeting in the past decade, and as a result, the Japanese population is going down. Unfortunately, this is a very bad thing. Like in the US, Japan had a baby boom many years ago. This generation is now becoming old and retiring, and so many of them are retiring that the social security system in Japan is going to take a huge hit. There aren't enough young people in Japan to support social security for the retiring baby boomers, and the trend continues to be that less and less young Japanese are having children. This is one of the most heated topics in Japan right now, as they'll be facing a crisis if the birth rate doesn't swing back in the other direction soon. In fact, if the trend hypothetically continued as it were for the next 500 years, there would only be half the population of Japanese in the year 2500 than there are right now. Thats over 60,000,000 less people.

One option for combating this is to get more skilled foreigners to come work in Japan. However, there hasn't really been any big plan of action regarding this... something is 'supposedly' being planned to get more foreign workers in Japan, but who knows what it'll be or how long it'll take.

However, the population isn't really the primary factor in why prices are so high. It's more to due with how much land and space is available in Japan.