About working as a tour guide in Japan

I refer to these two past threads where the topic has been discussed:
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+46039
http://www.japan-guide.com/forum/quereadisplay.html?0+68759

As we know, there is a law which states that the JNTO guide-interpeter certificate is mandatory for working as a tour guide in Japan. However, I'm a little confused about the actual situation in the business. I found an article from several years ago suggesting that politicians had been considering loosening the rules so that intra-company training could count too, as a substitute of taking the hard exam. Did they drop that idea?

More specifically, I find numerous foreign tour operators, some of them listed and avdertised also on this site, which provide locally residing foreigners as tour guides. Yet the official Japanese search system of guides (http://www.guidesearch.info/) does not list any foreigners. So, it seems to me that you can actually work as a tour guide without the certificate. Can anyone tell me more about that? If true, that makes it way easier for local foreigners interested in the industry.

As far as I know, the situation with the law has not changed, but some tour operators from overseas sometimes bring their own guides as attendants, and maybe for cost considerations do hire some local residents for that role too. But it is unofficial.

As we know, there is a law which states that the JNTO guide-interpeter certificate is mandatory for working as a tour guide in Japan. However, I'm a little confused about the actual situation in the business. I found an article from several years ago suggesting that politicians had been considering loosening the rules so that intra-company training could count too, as a substitute of taking the hard exam. Did they drop that idea?

There has been talk of revising the law, but it hasn't been decided yet. So while it is basically still illegal for a non-licensed tour guides to operate in Japan, there are several loopholes that tour companies are using to get around this restriction. For example, they may use volunteer guides who do not get paid, or they have their tour conductors give information in level of detail lower than what could reasonably considered guiding.

More specifically, I find numerous foreign tour operators, some of them listed and avdertised also on this site, which provide locally residing foreigners as tour guides.

It's hard to say without seeing a specific ad. Can you link an example.

So, it seems to me that you can actually work as a tour guide without the certificate.

No, not legally. The law hasn't changed.

Another way around this is the qualification is actually a guide/interpreter tour guide license, but if you provide no interpreter services, then you should be able to just guide them.

yllwsmrf: No, I prefer not to refer to examples, but you can easily find them yourself. Indeed, the local residents hired are not called "guide-interpreters" but other names, which I guess is a loophole. All of this might be kind of illegal... but I'm happy about it. :) The law as it is right now is a bit unfair, to say the least.

The law as it is right now is a bit unfair, to say the least.

Sorry? Most modern countries require a license to work as a guide to avoid seeing shady guys or ex-con playing guide to scam tourists. Also to avoid giving tourists wrong informations or taking them to places owned by friends of the fake guide...

Just because you cannot work as a guide does not mean the law is unfair or wrong. In Thailand for example it is illegal for foreigners to work as a guide, licensed or not. Unfair...?

Indeed, the local residents hired are not called "guide-interpreters" but other names, which I guess is a loophole. All of this might be kind of illegal...

I see, well in that case it would be impossible to say. They could be operating within a gray area of the law, or they simply could be operating illegally and banking on the fact that this law is not really aggressively enforced.

but I'm happy about it. :) The law as it is right now is a bit unfair, to say the least.

I wouldn't go as far to call it unfair, anyone can take and pass the test, but the system does raise the costs to become a licensed guide, and as a consequence can make guided travel more expensive than it has to be. Another result is that some tour companies turn to unlicensed "volunteer" guides of questionable quality, which kind of defeats one of the main reasons that the licensing system was put into place in the first place.

Another way around this is the qualification is actually a guide/interpreter tour guide license, but if you provide no interpreter services, then you should be able to just guide them.

Sandy, I was of the impression that it is the foreign language guide part that was regulated, and that you could theoretically have a Japanese speaking guide (which is not a licensed position btw) and a separate interpreter involved on a tour, but that this usually isn't done because it is cost prohibitive.

The law as it is right now is a bit unfair, to say the least.

We would call it unfair if foreigners were forbidden to work as a guide like in Thailand but given that anyone (with a good level of japanese) can sit the exam to become a guide we will call it a simple rule in a country where everything is regulated. Just like most modern countries.

Guest: Don't get me wrong, I'm not against the license, although I would argue about the need for universal penalties (in my country tour agencies are free to choose whether to hire licensed or non-licensed guides especially for uncommon tourists; I've personally been a guide-interpeter to Japanese tourists quite a few times without possessing the license). All I'm saying is that maybe Japan needs to be more inclusive and flexible with this system, because the practice is much more circumstantial than it seems. For example, a foreign person who's lived 30 years in some Japanese locale, or a person who's written their PhD dissesrtation and published an academic book on a region (like Todai's P.Galbraith on Akihabara) can definitely be a reliable guide if offered the opportunity to do it as a freelance/part-time and take some tourists around every once in a while. The Japanese state can only gain from this; it's a win-win situation.
Therefore, Japan could offer alternatives for obtaining the cerificate (or specify exceptions). From what I know, even Japanese take several years to pass that exam (held only once per year!) and the number of holders is low, what is left for foreigners...
Also, possessing the license does not mean you can't take tourists to "places owned by friends", especially as the majority of the guides are freelance and can be hired privately for custom needs.

As for your example with Thailand, that would be an unjustifiable discrimination, yes.

From what I know, even Japanese take several years to pass that exam (held only once per year!) and the number of holders is low, what is left for foreigners...

Personally I don't find this a very compelling argument as foreigners are equally capable of passing the test as Japanese. And there is no quota so someone passing the test does not take away a spot from someone else. We don't need special treatment, but I do agree that the bar should be lowered on the whole. That could benefit the industry.

Also, possessing the license does not mean you can't take tourists to "places owned by friends", especially as the majority of the guides are freelance and can be hired privately for custom needs.

I'm sorry, I don't quite understand what you are trying to say here. Would you mind clarifying?

On a side note, I suspect that the online guide search that you posted is not an exhaustive list of all the licensed guides. When I do a search I can't find some people that should be there and overall it seems that there are far fewer listings than there should be.

yllwsmrf: It looks like the majority of the guides in that search engine (and some other sites I found) are working freelance and can be hired privately by any small group of tourists (a family or even an individual). Only judging by this, it can be argued that they have freedom in selecting the places they recommend, so especially in countryside places they're very likely to take the tourists to small restaurants or shops run by friends. I was simply replying to guest who said that the certificate is meant to stop such practices. Personally, I'm fine either way and that wasn't my main point.


And I'm not really talking about preferential treatment, but more about an effective flexibility which factors in the globalized and circumstantial state of today's business. I have exactly the same argument against all the conservative Japanese employers who honestly believe that lining up 1 foreigner together with 10 Japanese for a group interview makes any sense. I want to be helpful and useful for the country as a foreigner with my alien skills, not as someone whose aim is to become an undistinguishable Japanese. At least that is how I personally understand "doing global business". But that is a bit off-topic, thank you for the replies in this thread. :)

It looks like the majority of the guides in that search engine (and some other sites I found) are working freelance and can be hired privately by any small group of tourists (a family or even an individual).

From what I understand, the majority of guides work freelance, even some of those hired for the major bus tours.

Only judging by this, it can be argued that they have freedom in selecting the places they recommend, so especially in countryside places they're very likely to take the tourists to small restaurants or shops run by friends. I was simply replying to guest who said that the certificate is meant to stop such practices. Personally, I'm fine either way and that wasn't my main point.

I don't think this was really the issue that the certification was meant to address (especially since the big tour companies are especially egregious for taking you to companies that they have cozy relationships with). From what I understand, the purpose was to ensure that the guides have a certain level of knowledge and competency that they can be counted on to give accurate info and put "the best foot forward" for Japan so to say.

And I'm not really talking about preferential treatment, but more about an effective flexibility which factors in the globalized and circumstantial state of today's business.

Hmm, perhaps there are situations where a specialist should be able to get certified without having to pass the national test, although I don't see why that type of exception can't be blind to nationality. But I also don't see a problem with just lowering the bar for entry so that it's easier for people to get certified across the board.

I have exactly the same argument against all the conservative Japanese employers who honestly believe that lining up 1 foreigner together with 10 Japanese for a group interview makes any sense.

This is a different situation where if the foreigner doesn't meet a certain minimum competency then they are not going to get hired. And of course it depends on the position that we are talking about, but a 1:10 ratio in many cases means that the foreigners may be grossly overrepresented.

I want to be helpful and useful for the country as a foreigner with my alien skills, not as someone whose aim is to become an undistinguishable Japanese. At least that is how I personally understand "doing global business".

I agree, there's no need to become indistinguishably Japanese. But your alien skills will either have to be in addition to the basic requirements of the job, or so attractive that they compensate for whatever's missing, because no responsible business no matter how global should be hiring you otherwise.