Is there a work exchange program that lets me move from America to Japan? -

It is a dream of mine, to live and work in Japan. The culture and lifestyle looks so inviting and amazing. But i will need a bit of help getting there. I want to work and live there for a while. I hope to do this with a friend to make the change a bit easier. I would prefer acting jobs. anything will help. Thank you.

The short answer is no. The slightly longer answer is, Japan is in a terrible recession right now, like the USA. There aren t enough jobs for Japanese people, let alone for people who come from other countries. The entertainment industry is shrinking, not growing. The long answer is, there s no program for that sort of thing. You would have to do it on your own, and you would have to fight against many very difficult obstacles. For example, Japan has a closed immigration policy, so just to live in Japan, you would need to either get a work visa (which requires a 4-year university degree or substantial work experience, and a sponsoring company) or you d need to marry a Japanese citizen. There are maybe 3 or 4 Americans working regularly as actors in TV and movies in Japan. Out of a country of about 120 million, that s not very many. It s not impossible, but it s very unlikely, and expect a lot of resistance if you go down this path. Unless you re very talented or exceptional, you re going to have to work very hard and convince a lot of people to get someone to help you.

Carl gets a little carried away sometimes, but he is basically right. It s not TOTALLY impossible, just really really hard. There are a lot of unemployed foreigners in Japan right now and acting isn t exactly a steady job. The chance of becoming a well-known quot;talentquot; is about the same as winning on American Idol. You can try to get a job as a daily extra (I did this twice during my 6 years in Japan) but the pay is very low for the amount of work (about 5000yen/$50 for 12hours on set), and opportunities are spotty at best. Most of the people who do it are in it just for a fun experience and not as a career. You would need a steady job (such as teaching English) to cover your living expenses and to sponsor your visa so that you can enter Japan to work. That requires either a 4-year degree or 10 years proven experience in a field of expertise. Technically you don t need to speak Japanese for these jobs, but given the long unemployment lines filled with experienced teachers who do speak Japanese, you need every possible advantage to even stand a chance.

Yes there is but it depends on the company. In my case I was transferred to Japan to work in Ramp;D. I was already with the company for 6 years and the opportunity came for me to work in Japan. There are many people who are internal transferees from companies such as Citicorp, Merry Lynch. In fact I met more banking and investor types versus the technical and engineering types. As far as acting and entertainment, I am not too knowlegdable, but one my son s pre school teachers was a musician at nite with a pre school day job.

Sorry, not possible. You need a four year degree to work in Japan. And a solid job offer to get a work visa. Most Americans there teach English. It s not the dream job it once was. Other jobs are almost impossible to get,unless you have a special skill a Japanese doesn t have. To be an actor you would need to know how to speak, read and write Japanese at a native level. There isn t much demand for non-Japanese actors. As I ve said before,Japan s economy is not good at this time.Sorry,unless you are a skilled worker of some kind,finding work will not be possible.If it were,I d be there myself.