Finding work and getting a work visa for Japan

Finding work and getting a work visa for Japan?
I'm applying to be an English language teacher in Japan, but in case the program doesn't accept me, I want to go to Japan to work anyway. I would rather go as a permanent resident, not just for a year to five year contract. For anyone whose done this, how do I start? What are the best websites or companies to go to? Do I get the visa first or try to get a job first?
Immigration - 4 Answers
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1 :
Foreigners are not allowed to work in Japan unless they have an appropriate Japanese work visa. To get a work visa, you need to find a company willing to give you a job. You will also need the appropriate qualifications. If you have a four-year degree from a reputable university, that should be enough. If you have anything less then things will be more difficult. For example, if you have a 2-year degree or diploma, or an MBA from an institution nobody has heard of, then you and your potential employer will have to argue your case with the immigration department. Your first point of contact regarding Japanese visa eligibility is your local Japanese embassy
2 :
If you can get someone to hire you full time, they can usually take care of your visa. Until that time, though, you will have to come on a 3 month tourist visa. Permanent resident visas are only given after you have spent years here, and preferably married to a Japanese person. Employment contracts will be by the year usually, and your work visa may start at one year, or if you're lucky, 3 years. There are site such as Gaijin Pot, and Jobs in Japan (search Google) that have job listings. Also, after you arrive, you can pick up the Japan Times, which often has good job listings. If you come without a job, get out and meet people. You can often get introduced to something, which is the best way to get a job in Japan. If it takes more than 3 months to land a full time job, a short trip to Korea or Thailand will enable you to renew for another 3 months. Don't try that too often though. Many people here have to make 4 or 5 trips to Korea to renew their visa before they get settled. Good luck
3 :
It can be very difficult to get a work visa for Japan. In order to work full time in Japan you need to have a University degree. In order to obtain a work visa you require the backing of a company in Japan. Permanent resident is more difficult as you are required to have lived in Japan for an extended period of time and be married to a Japanese citizen. It is very easy to obtain a holiday visa but this lasts only 90 days and can only be extended under special circumstances. It is quite easy to find work teaching in Japan as there are many eikaiwa (conversation schools). I recommend teaching in Elementary or JHS with an ALT company as this is the most rewarding. The best site to look for employment in Japan is Gaijinpot.
4 :
I came here and found a job without a Uni Degree. It is possible, you just have to posses a skill that the company needs that a Japanese person cannot fulfill. In my case a Japanese company needed someone who could speak and read fluent English in order to gain a contract with another company that was a foreign company. I dont teach English and I barely know Japanese. You dont get a choice about your visa length. Immigration chooses based on your job type. My visa can be 1-3 years, but its 1 year because....immigration officer who processed it said so. It takes forever for the Certificate of Eligibility to come to even apply for the Visa, I waited 2 months. I came as a visitor had to leave Japan and re-enter as a visitor per the advice of the immigration Office. You cannot be a perm resident right away either. You need to live here at least 5 years with no gaps in your visa. Look here, it will answer a lot of your questions and raise quite a few. I made a video about moving here, u might find it and the links helpful. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Bj5nLeRiz8

For all who want to live in Japan, study in Japan or work in Japan

For all who want to live in Japan, study in Japan or work in Japan?
How many books about Japan (except manga) have you read so far?
Japan - 3 Answers
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1 :
Many books in English both about old times and modern. Currently I am reading Haruki Murakami's Wind-up Bird Chronicle. Furthermore I am studying Japanese for Busy People.
2 :
Good question Princess.
3 :
Good skies, I've lost count! Well into the middle or high double-digits by now though (really, do you want me to include books I read as a little kid? Because that definitely bumps the numbers up even more...I'm not counting language textbooks either). Right now I'm working on three books: "Shinto: The Kami Way" by Sokyo Ono, "Letters from the End of the World" by Toyofumi Ogura, and "Beautiful Boys/Outlaw Bodies: Devising Kabuki Female-Likeness" by Katherine Mezur.

What are some good reasons to live and work in Japan

What are some good reasons to live and work in Japan?
Mostly just want pros.
Japan - 3 Answers
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1 :
My sister worked there for a year doing her student teaching at an International School in Nagoya. I was in grade school at the time and my parents thought it would be a good experience for me to go there for a while and stay with her. It changed my life- LOL. Japan is hypnotically beautiful. There are cons, to be sure, but many pros. The food is so much better than in the US. I had a lot of problems getting sick when I came back to the US for a while because of all the chemicals and additives we are used to- they just are not in the foods in Japan. Everything is much more efficient there and the people really take an interest in you as a person, not just nod and walk on. Everything is so very different, like mirror opposite, from the way we look at things, the way we think and the assumptions we make- just total opposite. I really hope you can get to know Japanese people and the culture while there, not just look at it from a tourist bus. It will affect you, perhaps forever change the way you look at things, as it did me.
2 :
You want to live and work there? once you meet the requirements, visa, right degree etc then you can sit down and relax. If you want to get a good job down there, make sure you have the right degree (very important, research on this) and learn some Japanese (depending on what level you want to achieve, this can take years). You will still be at the queue though once a capable Japanese has been given first base. The easiest way of beating the Japanese guy to the job is by working for a major multinational company with branches all over the world including Japan. This might be banking and finance, I.T, science etc. If they like you, they employ you and they might send you to Japan (assuming they have an office there) for training for example. This would mean you will need a very good CV. Or for a fast cheap way (not as in price but the thought of it) marry a Japanese and appy for a spousal visa My advice to you will be to visit Japan to get a feel for the place, meet and ask people and comeback and ask sleep on it. Think carefully about this
3 :
For me, it's a feeling of safety for myself and my family. Gotta' be number one on the list. Well, the above is closely linked to the downside. It's much like Jamaica, you have to stay out of the road, because neither the Japanese or Jamaicans are safe drivers. Though I do think that Japanese drivers are a bit safer than the Jamaicans.

Help!! my blackberry model won't work in Japan, and can't afford the new iphone that does.

Help!! my blackberry model won't work in Japan, and can't afford the new iphone that does.?
Plus, I really really am trying to get out of having 2-year contracts, and won't want to get into one simply for 1 week in Japan. I could upgrade inexpensively to the Blackberry which would work there, but yet again, contract. I only have like 3 days to make a decision. Thanks! Serious answers only please. (I have TMobile) and am not in a contract with them now.
PDAs & Handhelds - 2 Answers
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1 :
Try slamming it on a table
2 :
Hi.it could be that the phone is not unlocked.In order for you to use the phone on another provider it needs to be unlocked.