Working in Japan

For numerous expatriates, even for a short period of time, working in Japan is a necessity.

While there is a vast range of jobs opened to foreigners living on the archipelago, some constraints exist. The Working Holiday Visa, for example, does not allow working in night industries. For numerous other kinds of jobs, a certain level of Japanese language, is required, shown by the JLPT.

Since most of the working positions are in priority given to local people, numerous expatriates choose to give language lessons.

Number of foreign workers in Japan

According to the government study published by Mainichi, there were 787,627 foreign workers on the archipelago at the end of October 2014, an increase of 9,8% compared to the previous year, establishing a new record since 2007.

Among these foreigners, were counted 147,296 engineers and experts, as well as 125,216 students with partial job.

The main nationality was Chinese, with 311,831 people, then Brazilian (94,171) and Filipinos (91,519).

Minimum wage in Japan

After it lastest increase (25¥ / ~US$0.16) in july 2017, the minimum wage per hour in Japan is 848¥, that is about ~US$5.54.