11 Useful Vocabulary in Your Job Search (Part 2 of 2)

Knowing just a few particular terms can double your readiness to tackle a professional job search in Japan.

Continuing from our last post about job-search vocabulary, here are six more words that you ought to know as you embark to find work outside of ESL:

履歴書（りれきしょ）

The Japanese equivalent for "resume." Japanese resumes have a standard format, including your contact information, full educational history, a photo, and sometimes things Westerners find surprising, like a list of relatives, their birth dates, and their current occupations. Traditionally, a 履歴書 is supposed to be handwritten.

自己PR（じこPR）

This is your "self promotion," or a 60-second blurb about what you want to do in the workplace and why your background makes you qualified for this job. You'll write it on your resumes, and you should know it by heart so you can say it (naturally) as your self-introduction at the beginning of interviews. This should be re-written and tailored for every job you apply to.

志望動機（しぼうどうき）

Closely tied to the above, your "motivation for working" should establish that you understand what this job/company is all about and you're excited by the idea of working there. There is a lot of crossover between the 自己PR and 志望動機 of job-seekers, but in principle, your "self promotion" should be telling about your skills and how they match the job, and your "motivation for working" should show that you know about the company and that your goals are in line with its. This should also be re-written and tailored for every job you apply to.

適性試験（てきせいしけん）

"Aptitude tests" are common among Japanese recruiters to weed out some of the hundreds or thousands of applications they may receive each year. The idea is that if you didn't bother studying for an aptitude test about kanji and math encountered in the business world, they're not going to bother considering you for a job. As a foreign applicant, you may be exempted from some of these; companies considering you for employment usually have a special project in mind for you, which they'll find out if you're capable of through resumes and interviews. However, you may still be asked to take a truncated version of an aptitude test or a personality test. Bookstores in Japan carry shelves of books about what kind of vocab you should know for these tests, what kind of story problems are commonly encountered on the math sections, and what kind of trip-up questions companies throw into the personality test to make sure you're not lying. (It's not always as simple as "T/F: I have never told a lie before.")

面接（めんせつ）

The Japanese word for "interview." If you made it past the resume screening and aptitude testing, you'll go in for one of these. They can take any of several forms, including group interviews (three or four applicants against a panel of interviewers), one-on-one, or you alone against a handful or a roomful of your future superiors. Japanese interviews tend to come in multiples, with each interview being numbered in succession: 1次面接, 2次面接, etc. Each level of interview will be with someone higher up in the organization, the final often being with the president. Two to four interviews for a job were my most common numbers, but I've heard stories of companies having up to 8次面接 for Japanese applicants.

内定（ないてい）

Roughly equivalent to "job offer," this is the payoff for all your hard work. After the final interview, a letter is issued to you stating that the company is extending 内定 to you. You'll need to reply with a letter of thanks, and accept the 内定 by completing some final procedures, such as taking a health exam (健康診断) and signing commitment (誓約書) and guarantor (身元保証書) forms. It is not uncommon for a Japanese company to conclude their hiring process and notify successful applicants six months or even a year before the starting date of the job. Which means: start your job search early, way before you intend to move into a new job.

We hope this series of articles has been useful for job seekers. If you have any other job hunting terms you'd like to add or ask about, please leave a comment below.

11 Useful Vocabulary in Your Job Search (Part 1 of 2)

If you're determined to find a job outside of the English teaching industry, it helps to familiarize yourself with the Japanese job-seeking world: A whole subculture exists for university juniors and seniors in which they identify the companies they want to pursue, attend seminars for those companies, climb a pyramid of four or more progressively more demanding interviews, and finally get hold of an offer for a job that won't start for another year.

Accompanying this subculture is its own special vocabulary. Here are the first five of eleven words you ought to know when venturing into the Japanese job market, and what they mean:

就職活動 （しゅうしょくかつどう）
Often abbreviated as 就活, this is the word epitomizing the subculture described above. Literally "activities for finding employment," when you are on the cusp of graduating from university (or for some, high school), 就活 is your full-time job. All you do, night and day, is schedule seminars, handwrite resumes, practice interviewing, and study for company entrance exams. It's a portal Japanese are accustomed to, akin to the 受験生 feeling of junior high school students progressing on to high school, or high school students progressing on to university.

大手企業（おおてきぎょう）

A "large enterprise," these are the massive brand names in Japan, like Sony or Toyota, and for most Japanese, the dream job that everyone wants to get a hold of. For the most part, 大手企業 still uphold traditional Japanese practices of lifetime employment, and a job-seeker who gets accepted at one of these companies will be set for life: Banks, creditors, realtors, car dealers, and future in-laws will welcome you with outstretched arms if the second line on your business card bears an 大手企業 name. (All this does come in exchange for long working hours and unwavering devotion to the company).

募集・応募（ぼしゅう・おうぼ）

Meaning "hiring" and "applying" respectively, 募集 is the term Japanese firms use to indicate they're offering jobs and 応募 is the term job-seekers use to say they'd like to apply for jobs. A polite phrase to add to your resume and interviews, after stating the reason for your application, is 「是非応募させていただきたいと思います」.

自己分析（じこぶんせき）

Means "self analysis." Before you start applying for jobs, have a good handle on who you are and what your aims are in your job search and beyond. In a competitive job market, with many, many more college graduates than available positions at large companies, recruiters place a lot of emphasis on finding all-star applicants who have done plenty of "self analysis" and provide substance in their resume and interviews, rather than parroting the same "I'm a hard worker, and my weakness is that I'm a perfectionist" fluff everyone else already says.

御社・貴社（おんしゃ・きしゃ）

When addressing a company in a message or interview, use these words: Not 「あなたの会社」, nor 「Name of Company」, but one of these. (Either is fine, but I hear 御社 more often in interviews and 貴社 more often in written correspondence.) It makes you sound professional, and a foreign face equipped with these words will garner surprised smiles and nods of approval from interviewers.

Stay tuned for the six remaining words in our next post. :)

Worksheet Sunday: Pen Pals for Students

In line with this week's articles on making new friends with pen pal services, we'd also like to introduce a pen pal service that can be adapted for use in the classroom:

Pen Friend Clubs of Japan is a program run by the Japanese Postal Service to match up Japanese junior high and senior high school students with overseas pen pals.

If you are a teacher in Japan, the applications page is in Japanese, but you can print out applications for individual students to fill out or applications for a whole class or club of students.

If you are a teacher overseas and want to find Japanese pen pals for your students, use an application from the English page.

In either case, send the completed application to:

Pen Friend Clubs of Japan

Postage Stamps and Postcards Office
Mail Business Division
Japan Post Service Co., Ltd.
Tokyo 100-8798 JAPAN

The Japan Post Office will send a reply to the address listed as soon as they find a match for your student(s). The service is completely free.

Why Don't My Pen-Pals Write Back?: How to Keep a Pen-pal Relationship Alive

(Admit it. This is what you are really after.)

It's easy to get onto a "friend finder" website, write up a form letter about how you're a lonely foreign person looking for friends in Japan, and send it off to the first 20 people that show up in your search results.

But, out of the 20 people you send to, maybe only a handful respond. And although things seemed to be going great with that handful, a week later none of them are replying to your messages anymore. So, what's wrong? Why aren't the pen-pals you made writing back anymore?

In my experience, about 1 in 10 people I've contacted had similar enough communication styles to be long-term pen pals. And in the same way, many people have contacted me who I just didn't "click" with and so I found it difficult to reply to their messages.

So, the first rule is:
1) Just Keep Trying
If the people you contacted didn't reply or stopped replying, search again for other people to contact, or wait a week and then post a new ad on whatever site you're using.

There's always going to be a timing issue. People get busy at work or school, or they start a new project, take up a new hobby, study for a test, get a new girlfriend--there's a million reasons why someone can suddenly get busy and just doesn't have time to keep up with messages from pen-pals. A week passes without answering a message, then two weeks, then a month, then finally they get too embarrassed to reply and just delete the message.

Whatever. It happens, right?

But, on the other side of things, there's also always going to be dozens of other people who aren't busy and want to swap messages with you. So, if you stop hearing from one pen-pal, try making another.

2) Tailor the Message
When you write to a new pen-pal, though, don't use a form letter that you've been sending out to a dozen other people. Read their ad and tailor your message to that person. Pick something you liked in their ad, and tell them you like it too. People are more likely to respond to a message that was written specifically to them.

3) Keep Things Light
It can be a huge turn-off to get a first or second message from someone that says, "Hey, I wanna see your picture!" or "Hey, what's your Skype?" Some people just want to be pen-pals. And even people who are interested in swapping pictures or chatting on Skype usually want to know more about the person they've just met before handing out that kind of personal information. Take some time to lead into questions about their Skype name or Facebook profile. In my opinion, a week or two of messaging isn't too long. And keep the request light by phrasing it as a question or asking how they feel about it. "Would you be interested in talking on Skype sometime?" or "Can I ask your e-mail address?" It's polite, and they're more likely to respond.

In the same vein, your new pen-pal doesn't really want to hear about how you've been in the hospital because of a suicide attempt or how you just got diagnosed with AIDS. Think about it: If you get a message like this, you're gonna squirm for some legitimate response better than, "Man. That sucks." And as soon as replying starts to feel like a hassle, you're not gonna find the time in your day to do it. So, keep big "revelations" out of the picture until your friendship is solid enough to handle that kind of talk.

4) Ask Questions
In every message you write to a pen-pal (that you want a response from), be sure to add a question in the message. Ask about something they wrote last time, or ask their opinion about something you wrote. The reader needs to know that you're writing *to* them and that you care what they have to say, or else they're going to lose interest and stop responding. A question in the message body adds a sense that they need to follow-up to what you've said. As more messages pass between the two of you, and you learn more about your pen-pal, this kind of genuine writing becomes more natural and easy to compose. It's during those first few messages with a new pen-pal that it's really hard to come up with good questions. Everyone has already been asked "What kind of music do you like?" or "What are your hobbies?" a billion times. Ask something more specific, like about their favorite song by a specific artist they mentioned, or mention something interesting you've done and ask if they've ever tried it before.

5) A Word About Looking for "Friends"
Some people get on pen-pal sites to find a boyfriend/girlfriend (or something more transient). And it's not by any means limited to gender--plenty of Japanese girls who want to bag a foreign boyfriend hang out at these sites, too. If that's what you're after, there's probably someone else on the site who's looking for someone like you.

But, bear in mind that not everyone on the site is there to hook up, and you're dealing with real people on the other end of your screen.

Even if you're hoping for romance, most relationships are usually preceeded by some kind of friendship or acquaintance. If you always start out by spilling the beans about how you're looking for a Japanese girlfriend (and are therefore only contacting that person with the hope it'll lead into a relationship), you're going to come across a lot of potential pen-pals who mysteriously "forget" to write back.

Finally, if you've been exchanging messages with someone for a while, and now you're hoping it'll someday lead to something else, be up front about it. Then, respect and abide by the answer you get, even if it is negative.

Want a Japanese Penpal? Here's How to Find and Make One.

Pen-pals can be an awesome way to practice Japanese or learn about Japan. If you're moving into a new city, you can connect with people there beforehand.

And, it seems like there's no shortage of English teachers in Japan who never get to talk to Japanese people outside of work. Pen-pals can be a nice self-confidence boost if you get to Japan and realize that you've 1) left all your old friends behind, and 2) are having trouble making new friends here--especially Japanese ones.

A lot of sites advertise pen-pal matching services for a fee. (And they usually do it right alongside dating services.) But, you don't need to pay money to find quality networks of people who want to practice their English, listen while you practice Japanese, or make a genuine friend.

Japan Guide
My top recommendation for pen-pal networking is Japan Guide. The forums of the site are well-concealed, and maybe that is what's saved the completely free-to-use site from being infested with jerks and scams.

To use it, follow the links to the "Classifieds" or "Members' Area" at the bottom-right corner of the main page. The most active classifieds forum is the board for finding friends or pen pals, and they have a range of nationalities on the site. You can search by languages spoken, age, or region.

Most of the people I've encountered on the site are real, interesting people, and the "Questions" forum also happens to be one of the friendliest resources for questions about Japan that I know. No Gaijinpot style flamewars here. (So, if you decide to visit them, please promise to be nice. :) )

Lang-8
Another fantastic site, though in a little different vein, is Lang-8. Lang-8 is a blogging site aimed at people who want to write their blog in a non-native language. You open up a Facebook-style page there and write blog entries on the page. Native speakers of the language you wrote in can browse recent entries and comment on them or correct your mistakes using a very intuitive editing system.

As an English speaker, you will be in high demand to check other peoples' blog entries. And the Japanese community there is very active. Once you've established yourself on the site with a few entries of your own and contributions to others, people are more than happy to help out with homework questions, etc.

Like Facebook, you can mark other users as friends, which makes sure their blog entries will always appear in your feed. I made some solid friends here after we checked each other's blog entries over several months. And in that way, I think Lang-8 is the perfect platform to make some pen-pals who will last.

(By the way, when you write on Lang-8, keep in mind that the more concise your entry is, the more likely you'll get comprehensive, useful input. Break a large post up over a few days rather than posting a giant wall-of-text that lurkers are going to shy away from because they don't have time to read the whole thing at once.)

Keeping it Going...
Of course, even if you send out a bunch of messages on one of these sites, maybe you'll find that not many people reply, or people that initially seemed excited to contact you suddenly dropped off the face of the Earth. There's some skill involved in keeping a pen-pal relationship going; in our next post, I'll offer some of my opinions about how to do it.

Japanese Electonics: Plugs, Voltage and Wattage Guide

When bringing electrical goods back and forth across international borders, it is important to keep different countries' electricity standards in mind.

Not only can the socket shape be different, but different countries use different voltages and wattage, which means some appliances could fail to work in one country's outlets and cause a fire when plugged into another's.

Regarding shape of sockets, Japanese plug sockets accept plugs from the following countries (and vise versa):

American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua, Aruba, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bermuda, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Cayman Islands, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guam, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Japan, Laos, Lebanon, Liberia, Maldives, Mexico, Micronesia, Montserrat, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Niger, Okinawa, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, St. Vincent, Saudi Arabia, Tahiti, Taiwan, Thailand, United States, Venezuela, Vietnam, Virgin Islands (U.S.& British), Yemen.

Beat the three-pronged system
with a 100 yen adapter!
...just be sure it's safe.

Apparently some places in Japan use the non-UK three-pronged socket. But, if you travel elsewhere in Japan and can't find that kind of socket, but you desperately need to plug in your three-pronged, say, camera charger, it is possible to remove the third prong or cleverly use a thin adapter to just plug in the top two prongs. I've done this to my laptop and it was (and is) fine. The exceptions to this work-around are appliances that require a ground--that's what the third prong is--for safety. This is generally limited to stuff like microwaves, refrigerators, and dishwashers, or in other words, stuff that most people do not ship around internationally.

However, you must make sure that you use the correct transformer for vastly different voltage/wattages. Also note that if you use an item at a higher than rated voltage, you can no longer claim the product's liability for any fault or incident.

Usually, for electronics from/to the US, there shouldn't be a problem not using a transformer, but be especailly careful with things involving heat: Hairdryers, straighteners, and stuff like that. Running a Japanese one of these back in the States will result in a lot more heat being generated; this will either blow a fuse or be a fire risk. Consult the manual or item itself for a rundown of the acceptable voltage and wattage.

American products used in Japan will be slightly (but reportedly not significantly) cooler. (From Steve: I use a travel-sized hairdryer that I bought in the States. The fan is a little less peppy than in its original country, but I have used in Japan without any problems for more than 3 years.)

For the UK, remember that bringing heat-related items to Japan is almost pointless - they do crazy unpredictable things. They are not really more expensive to buy here, and you'll just have to bite the bullet on this one.

Usually, laptop chargers, phone chargers, camera chargers, etc., are designed to work at many different wattages. Check the rear of your product or manual for the range. The same often applies to TVs, etc.

Here's a comparison of Japan vs. the major ex-pat exporting states (taken from this extensive list), also including plug types (ABC etc):

Japan	100 V	50/60 Hz*	A & B	*Eastern Japan 50 Hz (Tokyo, Kawasaki, Sapporo, Yokohoma, and Sendai); Western Japan 60 Hz (Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima)
USA	120V	60 Hz	A & B
UK	230 V	50 Hz	G
Australia	240 V	50 Hz	I
New Zealand	230 V	50 Hz	I
Brazil	110/220 V*	60 Hz	A & B, C	*127 V found in states of Bahia, Paraná (including Curitiba), Rio de Janeiro, SÃo Paulo and Minas Gerais (though 220 V may be found in some hotels).  Other areas are 220 V only, with the exception of Fortaleza (240 V).  Outlets (click for more) are often a combination of type A and C and can accept either type plug.
Philippines	220 V	60 Hz	A, B, C

Although Japan and the US look very similar when compared to some of the others, I'll say again to be careful with items involving heat. A Japanese product designed to work at 100V will be 44% hotter at 120V. However, I have heard that more basic items such as rice cookers and denki pots will usually be fine.

Worksheet Sunday: "I Can, Can You?" First grade JHS (12-13yo)

My kids have just started learning the "Can" structures, so I thought I'd post the things I'll be using.

These work well for the first graders, but a more simple version for elementary schoolers can also be a lot of fun (see this recent post for that). Details below. As always these sheets are free to use, but please don't redistribute.

Juniour High (1st grade - 12-13yo)

I've got two different sheets for you.
 

The first is a pretty simple sheet made with the elementary class above in mind. Click here to download, but as always beware of Google Docs' preview - it will look fine when you download and open in Word.

• It initially involves saying what certain animals can or can't do - writing sentences with the maru/batsu prompts.
• Then students answer the written (or spoken if you like) three-hint quiz on page two.
• Then students play an interview game with a three hint quiz of their own. 
• i.e. students choose an animal, make three hints about what it can and can't do, then janken with other students to see who tells their hints. 
• They write the answers to their friends' hints on their slip (cut up page three)

Lasts about 25-30 mins.

Sheet two (click here to download) is a great one designed by the ever talented Laura. It's self explanatory, but if you can't work it out:

• First, students ask each other questions from the sheet (practice them as a class first if they aren't comfortable with the vocab)
• Then, they decide if YOU can or can't do the things in the grid. Colour in the star if they think you can, leave it blank if you can't. 
• Then get the JET to ask you the questions and you give your answers. Play this as bingo.
• Finally, they write some "Teacher can ____, but can't ____" sentences

Should last about 25-30 minutes.

As usual, if you have any ideas or corrections please let us know in the box below.

Browsing the Web in Japanese (Kanji translators etc)

It can be particularly frustrating to come across a new kanji and not be able to translate it without navigating to a time-consuming and often unreliable site, like Google Translate or Yahoo Babelfish. It's especially annoying when trying to fill out some unfamiliar form.

So for you lucky people, here are some resources to help you on your way.
This blog presumes you already have Japanese language support installed on your computer (Macs do). Do so by searching for "Japanese IME (your windows version)" on Microsoft Downloads.

• First of all it's very helpful to have a desktop dictionary program. Using a paper or handheld electronic one is fine, but there are also PC software options which have superior functions, including faster search methods. I suggest you check out JEDict.
• Today's portable electronics often boast touch screens, though, and that can be especially appealing to Japanese learners: If you encounter a kanji you don't know, you can look it up by writing on the screen. iPhone owners can find an app like this on the iPhone Store. But, another relatively inexpensive option for this kind of dictionary is to pick up a Nintendo DS and the Kanji Sonomama Rakubiki Jiten software. I bought a DS just for this. A lot of people in Japan buy an electronic dictionary with pretty much the same functions for several hundred dollars.

Plugins

• Rikaichan is a great plugin for Firefox, Thunderbird and Seamonkey which will translate any Japanese word you hover over into English, German, French or Russian. It will also de-inflect verbs/adjectives and show detailed options for the kanji's meaning and readings. I'd go as far as to call this essential for Japanese learners. You will need to download a dictionary file to go with it.
• Perapera-kun is a slightly more low-tech version which also also offers Korean and Chinese translation.
• Rikaikun is the Google Chrome version of rikaichan and is just as good.
  
  
• Furigana Injector (Firefox) is another great addon that places the kana reading of a kanji directly above the characters so that you don't even need to look them up. Great for people who have limited kanji knowledge (or just hate kanji). You can also set your kanji level so that only certain characters are annotated. You will need to install HTML Ruby to make it display properly.
• Furigana Injector for Google Chrome.

Pages

• Nice alternatives to using a site like Google Translate are popjisyo.org and rikai.com. Both allow you to paste a web address and then view the page, still in Japanese, but with a translation when a troublesome word is hovered over. Good for advancing learners.
• Reading tutor is also a valuable study resource. On this page you can paste a large block of text (like a webpage). The site will then generate a list of the vocab used alongside a clickable version of your text. This is a very handy way of reading with quick lookup.

And that's it. That should get you on your way. If you know of any other good applications or plugins then please tell us about them below.

The Top 5 Most Annoying Pages in the New Crown Textbooks

It was pretty hard to pick the very worst, but here are the 5 most inexplicably stupid pages from the current JHS textbook series in my school. Sorry about the quality; no-one's explained how to use the scanner :(

First up is page 62 for the second graders.

What is annoying here isn't the dastardly boring example of "My pencil is longer than your pencil". It isn't just that, anyway. The whole chapter unites to foster a suicidal dread in adults and children alike. The dialogue is obstinately dull; the only respite being when Paul finally loses all dignity and shouts "What?" at poor Kumi instead of the "Pardon?" we have seen as appropriate until now.

The pair have been set an assignment at school, and jack-in-the-box glory-hunter Kumi suggests that she and Paul study the phenomenon of "heat islands" together. They get off to a bad start when total retard Paul can't figure out why cities are hotter than the countryside, but when in part two the Internet is introduced, we see our American hero nearly swoon in delight. Parts three and four build to the dizzying crescendo of throwing a load of soil and plants on your roof to make it cooler, all the while teaching such marvels as "My bag is as big as your bag" and "Soccer is the most popular of the three" to an enthralled class.

Moving swiftly on, on page 33 of the same book Ken decides that he wants to take up playing an outdated instrument belonging to the Japanese version of Native Americans (the Ainu).

At the same time the New Crown artist decides that it's fine to submit a shoddily drawn picture of Ken and Ratna with water damage for publication.

I don't know which I'm more angry about.

Okay I think it's Ken. The picture connotes such an awful teeth-twanging sounding performance, coupled with Ratna's tone-deaf dry-handed dilated-pupil clap-along that I feel like I can't stop my stomach and intestines from making a fast exit through my backside in a sympathetic bid to end my life.

What the hell is this? The last thing that the poor 3rd graders learn in the year is an edited version of some awful American story called Courage. It features quips like, "Courage is a blade of grass breaking through the icy snow," but also takes a moment to relate to the youngsters with, "Courage is the bottom of the ninth, tie score, two outs, bases loaded, and your turn to bat." Whatever the bloody hell that means.

The single most stupid, however, has to be, "Courage is being the new kid on the block and saying, flat out, 'Hi, my name is Wayne. What's yours?'" Not just because the vocab is much too difficult, but if some kid was called Wayne he'd know better than to tell anyone, lest he find out that their name was Punch In The Face Hurr Hurr You Spazzy Bell-End.

Ultimately the story covers some important ground, but it is hardly worthy of the 3rd grade English finale, and it'd be better served with awe-inspiring tidbits kids can really relate to, like, "Courage is throwing your textbook under a train after making origami cranes out of pages 82 to 85."

Then we're treated to a curious retelling of Alice in Wonderland featuring Humpty Dumpty (end of New Crown 1). I love Humpty Dumpty, and imagine my delight at learning more about his back-story - it turns out his name means his shape! Thanks Japan!


This entire version of Alice is a little odd. She goes to Wonderland as usual, meets Humpty Dumpty and then sings a song about his death which terrifies him. Then it ends with poor egg man wobbling on the verge of tears and Alice warbling with the porcelain-blank darling-face of a stage school brat.

Last but not least is Paul's dad grooming Kumi.

God knows why she was there in the first place - maybe to watch the cat listening to African music and doing a little dance (someones contract was coming to an end, I think), but the way Mr Green tries to gently ease her into her new life as his mistress is more than a little disturbing. Pictures sit atop the mantle to remind the reader of the lives heartless gaijin Mr Green is set to destroy for his selfish sexual desires.

But our Japanese heroine isn't sure about the whole thing. The African music was just the start, and after initially accepting Mr Green's offer of tea she begins to worry. Not just about the contents of the cake which she declines, but the tea itself flashes through her mind in a deftly illustrated thought bubble.

As she stares in vacuous, numb horror at Mr Green's Gary Glitter CDs Paul rushes to the door in a cold sweat. Another one saved, Master Green, and just in the nick of time.

Alternatives to Working Visas

Usually, you need a 4-year university degree to obtain a working visa and come work in Japan. But, in case you really wanted to know, and people seem to ask about this a lot, there are other kinds of visas that enable you to work in Japan.

They are generally more complicated than the working visa:

Working Holiday Visa
Some countries have a special agreement with Japan that allows youth aged 18 to 30 to come to the country for up to one year (or rarely, a year and a half) with the primary intent of an extended vacation in Japan. During this vacation, you are allowed to engage in work to support your lifestyle. There are restrictions on the kinds of work allowed, but with an otherwise strong application, this visa is available even without a university diploma. It is possible to start out in Japan on a working holiday visa then turn that into a normal working visa, spouse visa, etc. However, the normal requirements of the new visa (university degree, Japanese spouse, etc.) still apply.

Exchange Student Visa + Part-Time Work
If you are already in Japan as an exchange student, it is possible to extend the permissions granted by your visa to include up to 18 hours per week of part-time work. To do this, you will need signed documentation issued by your university that approves your intent to work. Requests like these are usually only approved for students working at accredited 4-year universities. Students at Japanese language schools (that is, schools whose primary purpose is to teach the Japanese language to non-Japanese) are not likely to get the extension.

Japanese Sugar-Momma/Sugar-Daddy
If you are married to a Japanese spouse, you can apply for a spouse visa, which will allow you to work unrestricted in any industry and company that will hire you. However, without any history of a work visa in Japan, your spousal visa application will be scrutinized by Immigration. You may not be approved for a long Period of Stay, meaning you will need to renew the visa frequently. And, your spouse will control your ability to be in the country; if you at any time become unmarried, or if Immigration loses confidence in the stability of your relationship--even if you didn't actually sign for divorce, your visa will become void and you will be required to leave the country.

The Millionaire Option
If you have capital and connections enough to start a real company, with employees other than yourself (I think around 5 full time employees are required), there exists a business manager visa. This route requires cash-in-hand of a sum not dissimilar to the full tuition of a four year university degree. And on top of that, you will need help from Japanese lawyers to establish the company, purchase real estate, write employee contracts, enroll in appropriate insurance programs, and apply for the visa on your behalf. As long as the business exists, whether or not it ever reports a profit is irrelevant in terms of being able to obtain and renew the visa. However, at the end of the day, the visa is only valid for working at the company you just set up.

Permanent Residence
I hear some of you asking, "But, what about permanent residence?" Well, yes. If you have permanent resident status in Japan (or Japanese citizenship), you can work in any company that will hire you. But, the gateway to permanent residence is almost always through years of renewed working visas or spousal visas. In principal, if you have been living in Japan for five years or more and are married to a Japanese National, or if you have been living in Japan for ten years or more and held a valid working visa for at least five of those years, you are eligible to apply for permanent residence. Submission of supporting documents and interviews with Immigration follow the application to determine whether your request is granted or not.

Prisoner of War Exception
The other, quick route to permanent residence is to be imprisoned in North Korea for 39 years and wanted in your country for military desertion.

Japanese Citizenship
Applying for Japanese Citizenship usually comes after maintaining permanent residence for a few years. Japan does not (yet) support dual citizenship, and if you obtain Japanese citizenship, you are asked to revoke your other citizenship(s) at respective embassies. (But, it's not like the Japanese authorities tear up your old country's passport in front of your face; I have heard many cases of people secretly maintaining their old citizenship just by "forgetting" to report to the embassy and revoke it.)

So, that about covers it. Yes, if you want to work in Japan without getting a university diploma, there are, technically, other options for doing so. If I've missed any other big ones, or you have any other questions, please leave a note in the comments.

Worksheet Sunday: Laura's Category Game (all JHS grades 12-15yo "Anything OK")

Laura is a genius. Well, she'd have to be to wind up with a guy like me. Anyway, she is a fountain of good teaching ideas. Her latest wholly-original, gloriously-simple yet highly successful activity is called the Category Game.

It's another all-purpose solution to "anything ok".

Expect to fill 20-25 mins including explanation and wrapping up. Can work with all JHS grades with some tweaking.

The name may well be the most complicated part. Follow these simple steps:

1. Make about 12 different categories (like sports, animals etc) and put them in an envelope. You will need one numbered envelope for each group (~4 students each), but don't give them out.
2. Give each group a dictionary or two
3. One student from each group must come to the front and take a category from his/her group's envelope
4. Challenge them to find five words for each category as fast as possible (e.g. bear, duck etc for animals)
5. When they have five words, they must bring their sheet to you for your approval. If it's okay, they take another category
6. The winning group is the one with the most succesfully completed categories at the end of the game (set a time limit of 10-15 mins)

They react surprisingly well for something so simple. You can use this with any grade if you tailor the categories to their ability. Here's a set for second graders (remember to download it to display correctly).

As always, you can use this for free, but please don't repost it anywhere else (linking back here is fine, though!)

Working in Japan without a Degree

Occasionally, people ask whether it is possible to work in Japan without a 4-year university diploma. I won't beat around the bush: The answer, in 90% of cases, is "no."

The reason for this is not an industry requirement so much as an immigration requirement.
Japanese immigration does not grant working visas to individuals without at least a bachelor's degree. Only rare exceptions exist, and they usually involve proving five to ten years' work experience in a technical field, with the help of a lawyer who specializes in immigration, at great time and expense.

I have not personally heard examples of individuals obtaining work visas with 2-year associate's degrees.

Aside from working visas, there are other options that each come at their own cost.

However, keep in mind that without a degree, it will be difficult for your resume to compete with other candidates', especially if you are trying to find work in a field where most others have completed a degree. In that case, even if you find a way around the working visa requirement, you may find that only a small number of companies are willing to employ you without university credentials, and they may not offer the most desirable salaries or working conditions.