I am Bryan Ogden. An expat living in Fujushima during the disaster six years ago, English teacher, employment recruiter, and aspiring author. AMA!

Thanks for the question.

Japan is facing one of the worst, if not the worst problems of aging population globally. There are so many jobs here that companies are paying premiums to find good people (both in salaries, as well as in recruiter fees). I read somewhere that there are 130 jobs for every 100 people able to work, so the jobs are definitely there.

Having said that, penetrating the Japanese market as a foreigner is incredibly difficult. If you want to work at a Japanese company, you should be able to read and write business level Japanese at the very minimum. I would advise passing the JLPT1 at first. There are foreign companies open to hiring people without those language skills, but the jobs are very competitive.

After that, I'd research what skills are actively sought after in Japan, and brush up your skills in those areas.

As an easier route, there's always the option of coming as an English teacher, but your career (not to mention paycheck) could take a big hit if you do that.

If you're interested in more details, send me a PM. I'd be happy to talk with you about it.

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