How hard is it to get a permanent working visa in Japan?
 

I'm sick of the US and I may be looking for permanent relocation to Japan if I can get a job. The only thing I'm a little afraid of is the piss poor criminal and court system Japan has but I might risk it. I don't care about racism or no-gaijin-allowed places I just want a nice apartment and corner market and I'll be fine.

Do you need to be hired before you immigrate to japan and get a working visa before you even step foot in japan? Is it possible to come over as a tourist and then go on a bunch of interviews? I won't be applying for low wage jobs, I'm an electrical engineer with a college degree and years of experience with a multinational corporation so my qualifications won't be in question.

Also, does anybody know what pay is like in japan for gaijin? I'm wondering if I'm going to need to take a significant paycut because of my skin color.

Basically, yes, you do. You need a full working visa to work there, and you need to be hired by a company to get the visa, as they will provide the sponsoring documents that will make you eligible for it. You may strike very lucky to find a company in 90 days who will allow you to return to your home country and re-apply, but it's an expensive gamble if you don't. Remember, Japan is REALLY STRICT about visas and working without the right one. If you get caught, you're in very hot water. Qualifications aside, do you speak Japanese? That will be the key issue for you going for those kinds of professional jobs. Because there are likely also Japanese nationals who are electrical engineers with a college degrees and years of experience who are going for the same work, in which case, why go to the bother and expense of getting a foreigner in for it? Having said that, I don't know much about the industry, so i might be off whack.

And btw, it's 'emigrate' in your case, not 'immigrate' XD

Well, impossible really, as there are no "permanent" working visas. :)

But I`ll assume you meant the normal 1 or 3 year type.

Do you plan on being a criminal?
If not, the Japanese criminal and court system will play little (no) role in your life. People are not regularly arrested or detained as they are in the US - the risk of having an encounter with the law is very very low. The police simply don`t intrude into the lives of normal people to much of an extent.

Unless you are trying to go to extremely seedy bars or sex-related shops... You`ll pretty much never encounter any of that sort of thing anyway.

Pretty much so, yes. There are a strict order of steps required for obtaining a visa.

Not really. It can be done, I assume, but they`ll need to agree to hire you, do all the intensive paperwork for your visa, watch you leave the country and then wait for you to come back with a visa... A process that can take months. Visas take some time.

Big question; Do you speak Japanese, and speak it well? (As in to the point that you would be perfectly fine using it for all your work related activities?)
If the answer is no - look for jobs with a company where you are that has offices in Japan. Forget job hunting with a Japanese company.

Companies that want English speaking employees and who don`t care about their Japanese skill hire outside of Japan. Those that hire inside Japan won`t be looking for skilled English speakers - they`ll be looking for skilled Japanese speakers. And as the economy isn`t exactly the greatest these days, there are more than enough skilled Japanese natives looking for positions. By looking for a job in Japan, you`d be competing with them... In a language you do not speak.

There is no "gaijin pay scale" - if you have a job at a Japanese company in a normal position, you`ll be paid pretty much what everyone else is being paid. You may start out at a higher pay than average, as a company that would hire a foreigner and go through all the paperwork trouble of getting them is likely to be sure that they`re getting someone with major skills that make it work it... But I doubt you`ll see a pay cut.