View Working:Requirements
Visas
You cannot legally work in Japan without a working visa. It is also illegal for someone to employ you if you have a tourist visa. Australia, Canada, and the UK have reciprocal working holiday visa arrangements with Japan. Foreign women who are married to foreign men and have spouse visas may work up to twenty hours a week. There are no working restrictions on foreign women with spouse visas and married to Japanese men.
To obtain a working visa in Japan, your employer has to ‘sponsor’ you, i.e., submit several documents to the Japanese immigration authorities, including your contract, your qualifications, and company details. It is a little-publicised fact that you can submit these documents yourself and apply for your own visa, as long as you can prove that your income exceeds ¥200,000 per month, although obviously you need your employer’s co-operation. Another little-publicised fact is that you can obtain a visa by combining several different jobs: you need the documents for each employer and the total amount of income must exceed ¥200,000 per month.
It can take up to two months for your visa application to be processed and, if it is successful, you must take your Certificate of Eligibility to a Japanese embassy in any country (it doesn’t have to be in your home country), where it will be stamped. You then submit the certificate when you enter Japan and receive a working visa stamp in your passport. Most first-time visas are for one year. If you are really unlucky then you will receive a six-month visa. You can renew your visa at the immigration office.
Japanese ability
It is entirely possible to get a good job in Japan without speaking Japanese. Some employers even forbid you from speaking Japanese at work, especially if you are teaching English. If you do speak Japanese however, your job opportunities greatly increase. Obviously some basic Japanese ability will smooth relationships with colleagues.
Qualifications
It is highly unlikely that you will find legal work in Japan without a degree or equivalent qualification. For some jobs your qualifications must be in a specialist subject and experience is required, although this is not always necessary.