Moving to Japan from The Netherlands

Hi,

I've been wondering what the best way would be for a Dutch citizen to move and work in Japan.

I am currently 18 years old and finished the highest possible high school education in The Netherlands (VWO), which means I can enter whichever University I want in my country.

I'd like to know what would be the best option for me, and which study path I should pursue if I want to work and live in Japan.

Currently I am thinking of;

- English, while studying Japanese on the side.
- IT, while studying English and Japanese on the side.
- Game Development, while studying English and Japanese on the side.

Thanks for reading, and if you have any other ideas or suggestions please let me know.

I believe it would be beneficial for you to study what you want to study, and think about your career first, THEN look around if that takes you to Japan.

I am assuming your mother tongue is Dutch. Studying English, while it might come in "handy," is not going to help you in terms of your potential career in Japan, because (excuse me if I am mistaken) if you are thinking of teaching English in Japan, and if you are a non-native speaker of the English language, you will need to show that you have 10, 12 years of studies "in" English (meaning, your school courses taught "in" English).

IT related jobs might bring you to Japan, but you need to be familiar with the programming (or whatsoever) that is highly in demand just the time when you want to come to Japan, and there is no way to tell if that luck will fall into your lap. The same with game development.

So. I suggest you study what it takes to pursue your career that you want :)

My continental European spouse, who wanted to come to Japan, took the long way around - came to Japan for a year to study the language, returned to Europe, majored in economics & business administration, found employment with a European bank, which eventually sent him to Japan.

I am assuming your mother tongue is Dutch. Studying English, while it might come in "handy," is not going to help you in terms of your potential career in Japan, because (excuse me if I am mistaken) if you are thinking of teaching English in Japan, and if you are a non-native speaker of the English language, you will need to show that you have 10, 12 years of studies "in" English (meaning, your school courses taught "in" English).

10-12 years of education in English only applies if you seek an Instructor's visa in order to teach in public schools. For the Humanities visa (teaching in private schools), there's no such requirement. I know because I currently hold a Humanities "visa" or residency (whatever the term is) as a Malaysian national with a degree in teaching/education from Australia.

Thanks for the replies,

Alright, according to the replies I've gotten so far I can rule out studying Game Development and IT, which leaves my with only one study; English.

I understand that it might be possible to move to Japan with a lot of different studies, but according to serveral webpages it relies heavily on luck, and that's something I dislike.

I could also, like one of the previous posters stated, study in Japan for a year to learn the language, but this'll probably still involve a lot of luck after getting your Major in your country of origin. Because you'll still need to get a job at a company that'll actually be willing to send you to Japan.

I'd like to know if there are any other studies that will improve my chances of being able to live and work in Japan.

Thanks for reading.

The sectors where the demand for workers is high, and in which it is thus easier to find a job and have a good career, are the same in Japan as everywhere else: IT, engineering, finance, etc. Knowing Japanese, though perhaps not absolutely necessary, is a big plus. Luck also plays a big role, but that's true everywhere nowadays.

Basically, as the first responder says, don't focus on going to Japan and do what you like and are good at. They probably do that in Japan as well. But if you really want to go to Japan, start studying Japanese now.