While it is ideal to be employed by a company first and thereafter seek for internal posting to work in Japan, many job seekers are more interested to find job vacancy in Japan through internet or other means and travel over to take up the position upon successful application. There are also more adventurous individuals who prefer to find a job after their arrival. Unfortunately there are some practices by Japanese employers that make things tricky for anyone that tries to find a job after their arrival.

Though it is relatively easy to obtain work visas for various jobs, most employers are making it mandatory for a person to first have a valid working visa in Japan before consideration of offer. This makes it extremely difficult for a foreigner to try finding a job only after arrival in Japan. Without employment visa or visa sponsor, it is as good as unemployable. It is also next to impossible to find a place to live without a company or a guarantor.

After obtaining working visa, most foreigners would want to apply for another important permit known as Status of Residence. Status of Residence is a document allowing a person who has passed all requirements needed for working in Japan to live and work freely there. Essentially, this document allows foreigners who are already in employment to make a career move.

Naturally it is not to employer’s advantage to help his foreign worker to obtain Status of Residence. For this reason many foreigners who are already in employment would apply to take the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) offered by the Japan Educational Exchange and Services. The hardest level of JLPT is generally referred to as 1kyu or ikkyu or 1Q. This qualification allows foreigners to move around from one job to another, especially with the high demand jobs such as sales where the proficiency on foreign tongue is a value-add. English teaching jobs are also popular among foreigners who are non-expatriates and are interested switch career while in Japan.

The easiest job to find in Japan is to be an English language teacher. As long as there is a school or company wanting to sponsor a native English speaker with the necessary academic qualifications, working visa can always be obtained without much trouble. Non-teaching working visas for native English speaking individuals can also be obtained easily, as long as there is an application from a company. Generally all foreign companies in Japan are allotted a certain number of visas for expatriate staff based on a percentage of their total staff strength. For example, a foreign company employing 100 Japanese is usually allowed to employ 5 to 10 foreign nationals.