Part-time Work in Japan (Gillian)

Those of you planning to come to Japan as university students are probably worried about a few things. Issues concerning foreign registration, adhering to Japanese laws (particularly laws involving recreational drugs and alcohol), the possible language barrier and a university life that may be wildly different to that in your own country, are some of the primary issues that I was worried about before arriving in Japan. Probably one of the most troublesome worries concerns part-time work. We all need money, after all, and for some the best way to obtain money is to work part-time. However, is this a feasible option in Japan?

In short, yes, it is possible, but part-time jobs in Japan are somewhat different to part-time jobs in English-speaking countries. For one thing, as a foreigner on a (most likely) student visa, you will have to obtain a permit giving permission to engage in an activity other than that stated on your visa before you can engage in any part-time work at all. Also some jobs, such as working in bars or clubs, are not allowed under any circumstances under the terms of your student visa. Furthermore (and this might be the biggest hindrance you will encounter in finding part-time work), being a foreigner in Japan is a far more noticeable thing than it is in English-speaking countries. Many places of employment (shops, restaurants, convenience stores, cafes, fast food outlets etc) either wish to preserve a Japanese image, or are run by people who dislike foreigners. So unless you happen to be a foreigner of south-east Asian ethnicity who looks particularly Japanese, there is a good chance that you will be denied any chance of an interview.

This attitude is pretty unthinkable in English-speaking countries. Admittedly in some English-speaking countries you might encounter some racial discrimination when it comes to finding part-time jobs (some places advertise part-time jobs in different languages, others only seem to have staff of a particular ethnicity, etc), the places that do that are an unquestionable minority. This is not so in Japan, unfortunately, and many foreigners who have tried to find part-time work in Japan have a horror story or two to share.

However, fear not! Not all hope is lost. There are a few ways in which you can earn money in Japan without having to resort to desperate measures. These include:

• English teaching – This is admittedly a very competitive market, because every native English speaker, and a fair few non-native speakers, wanting extra money turn to holding one-on-one English conversation classes. Typically what happens is you either put up notices around the university, or you set up a profile on an English Lesson website (http://www.my-sensei.com/ and http://www.enjoy-lesson.com/ are two examples of such websites). Somebody will then hopefully contact you. You will meet said somebody in a cafe somewhere and talk in English for an hour. They will pay you between 1000 and 2500 yen for your trouble. You can find more information on the specifics of this in my article, The Truth Behind English Conversation Classes.
• Translation work – This might be a difficult area to get into if you do not have a degree, but bulletin boards at the university advertise for native English (and occasionally other language) speakers to proof-read already-translated documents and other similar activities, for fairly substantial levels of pay. If you are a native speaker of the language in demand, then this would be a perfectly do-able line of work for you to explore.
• Culture-based restaurants/cafes – If you happen to be of an interesting ethnicity (Indian, Chinese, African, etc) – then hospitality joints that specialise in your ethnicity will certainly be interested in hiring you, particularly if you can speak some Japanese. This is not particularly helpful for culture-less white folk like myself (especially since we are not allowed to work in British-style pubs), but I like to give advice to everyone. While it could be argued that in using your race to obtain a job you are doing exactly what the Japanese do in refusing to allow foreigners to work for them, I would argue that two can play at that game, and sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures.
• Other restaurants/cafes/fast food joints, etc – Some places might not care if you are a foreigner. I have seen foreigners working at fast-food joints in Japan, for example. There are a lot of part-time jobs advertised along the main streets around Waseda, and despite my previous warning about racial discrimination in Japan, I would say that it is worth applying anyway. You never know, after all. You might get lucky. And a job normally held by a Japanese person would surely improve your Japanese immensely, if you care about that sort of thing.

In conclusion, finding part-time work in Japan can be difficult, and the types of jobs that would be best to apply for may be different to those in your home country. It is, however, absolutely possible to do, and the best possible advice I can give is to keep trying and trying and trying, and to not give up. As we say in Japanese, ganbatte!