Becoming a seiyuu in Japan as a foreigner

[b]Before I begin with my question, I am NOT asking whether or not it is possible to become a seiyuu in Japan as a foreigner.[/b] I am well aware that it is difficult enough for native Japanese speakers to become seiyuu, but that's not really what I'm trying to get at. I would like to know, hypothetically, what it takes to get there.

In this situation, let's pretend I am financially independent/stable and am proficient in the Japanese language.

1) Regarding legality and my options... how would I go about becoming a seiyuu? What sort of status of residency should I be applying for? I have also contemplated teaching English in Japan after getting my B.A., if that helps.

1a) Alternatively, what can I do if I don't go through the teaching route? HYPOTHETICALLY, would I need to be signed to an agency in Japan in order to obtain a work visa sponsor?

2) Should I attend a seiyuu school in Japan AFTER I attain my B.A. here in Canada (I'll be around 21 or 22)? Will my age disallow me from attending such a school? I am also assuming I would be attending an international school of some sort.

Thanks for the help. Let me know if I've missed anything (I'm 100% sure I did). Again, I'm not asking if it's possible or impossible to become a seiyuu in Japan as a foreigner - rather, I would like to know HOW to become one.

Completely missed the "no HTML tags" note, whoops.

Anyway, after looking into it a bit more, is the following situation possible to run into?

- Obtain a working holiday visa.
- Use the time I have to be scouted or taken in by an agency.
- Have said agency sponsor me for a work visa.

Totally spammed this post. Scrap the working holiday visa idea, I see working is primarily for the sake of supplementing travel funds.

Regardless of job. You need to get the job first before getting a working visa. To get the job, you need to either use skype or some other method to communicate your skills and experience. Or you could do so while in Japan, have to check what visa that would be though.
What you could do is study Japanese in Japan. Student visa. Once your studies end, and before your visa expires, you could try to get a job. Apply while in the country and with a residential address helps.

@jh:
Thank you for your reply. I will look into that a bit more. Do working visas become invalid immediately if I leave the company I'm working for/that sponsors me? And secondly, is it possible to obtain a working visa while on a student visa? I'm also aware that student visas allow you to work 28 hours per week though.

you can be "seiyuu", but you won't make a thing on it.
to let you understand everything here,
of course it needs large amount of writings and explanation.
it's also spam like here.
Moreover,
I don't give an advice to anonymous one-time-guest-user
because they just disappear , go, won't give any feedback
after gaining what they want to know.

More importantly, despite it is pretty serious business and
needs adequate decision in your life ever,
what you are doing is to wait for answers from anonymous people and count on those uncertain or precarious information
from the ones you don't know even the names.
I don't understand....(its not only your case though)

@YJ84g
I'm not really sure what to say. I know the circumstances are harsh, and that becoming a seiyuu is not all fun and games (e.g. it's hard to make a breakthrough and being a seiyuu is not enough to make a living), but I made this thread with the intention of gaining knowledge on how to take the first step towards this unlikely, but highly ambitious dream of mine. Whether or not it's impossible is a different matter, but at the very least, I want to know where to get started because I'm unfamiliar with visas or statuses of residency. I want to fit in some research so I at least know what it is I have to do to get to where I want to be.

It sounds cheesy and all, but all I need to know is where to get started and a little know-how on how the industry works. After that, it all comes down to hard work, determination and ambition. I don't think becoming a seiyuu in my position is impossible- hard, but you never know unless you try.

Is it becoming a seiyuu in Japan that you're after or just becoming a Seiyu period?

I've been far removed from the world of Anime, but I know there are voice actors that work on the English language versions of the anime series that get licensed overseas. Would that be something you may be interested in? Could that be a springboard to other jobs?

@John B digs Japan

Only in Japan, as farfetched and crazy as it sounds. I live in Vancouver, which is a great place for voice acting in English, but in the end, the place I'm headed for is Japan.

Before you can think about working as a seiyuu, you need to become fluent in Japanese (including reading, as scripts and such won't have furigana) and develop a passibly native accent, so intensive language school would be the first step, followed by a voice acting school. Currently seiyuu are also expected to be idol-like, so work on developing a cute image and acting/singing. becoming a YouTube personality wouldn't hurt either.

There's almost no reason for companies to hire foreign seiyuu though. Aside from accent and visa sponsorship issues, the market is already saturated with cheap local talent (I know several seiyuu, all of whom have other jobs). If you've got looks that appeal to the otaku market and some kind of gimmick it's possible an agency would sign you and capitalize on your fifteen minutes, though.

@Vita
Thank you for the reply. I'll be studying hard while I finish post-secondary here in Canada to improve on the language aspect. The goal is to be able to pass the JLPT N1 in about 3-4 years time (I believe I'm currently at a passable N3 level, so I think my goal is at least somewhat realistic).

In any case, my current concern is how I'm even going to be able to *stay* in Japan as it is. Would I still be allowed to join a seiyuu school at age 21-22? At that age, I'm not sure if any school would be able to sponsor me for a student visa. The next /best/ option is to get noticed through other means, but I understand that is incredibly, INCREDIBLY difficult (more than what my words are expressing anyway).

Finally, I've concluded the last option I have is to find work in Japan for 5 years and then apply for permanent residency- by that time, I shouldn't have any issues with legality. However, as shallow as it sounds, I would prefer to *try* and break into the entertainment world before I'm 27, like this plan suggests.

Bear in mind that salaries for these types of jobs are incredibly low. Probably not enough to survive, let alone get a visa. As for PR, first, you need to be working in Japan for 10 years, and second, unless you are doing something deemed important to the nation, I think it is unlikely you would get it.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's up there with becoming an astronaut or President.

I would read some of the articles about Jenya.

http://www.ensoku.club/contents/article?id=1013

Good Luck!

Thank you both for your replies. I read somewhere naturalization takes 5 years, but I might be mistaken.

Anyway, just a passing thought: is it illegal to search for work while in Japan for tourist reasons? I understand I can't WORK unless I get a permit, but is searching illegal as well?

Permanent Residence and Naturalization are different things.

PR means you have the right to stay in the country as long as you would like; however, you retain your current citizenship.

Naturalization means that you renounce your current citizenship and become a Japanese citizen.

PR is easier, but takes 10 years minimum in most cases. Citizenship is harder, but can be concluded in 5 years.

Both require you to be able to maintain a steady career with sufficient income.

For PR check out this link
http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/tetuduki/zairyuu/eizyuu.html

For naturalization
http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/tnl-01.html

Remember, it's not just about how much you want PR/citizenship, but also that what you have to offer is in the national interests of Japan.

I've done a lot of voice-over work in Japan (mostly in English), including anime and games as well as commercials and promo videos, and I'm wondering if that might not be a better approach to trying to get into the industry. Rather than competing with native speakers in a school, you'd be offering something unique that they can't offer.

I did a bit of radio work in my home country, so I already had demo tapes to give to narration agencies when I arrived. That might also be something to look into.

@Umami Dearest
That sounds like a very sensible idea. Again, given that I live in a place where there are lots of opportunities for voice acting, I think I'm very fortunate in that aspect. It would also create an opportunity (keyword being opportunity) for me to step into voice overs in Japanese if I'm able to perfect the language as well.

May I ask about the legal aspects in your experience though? I understand every country is different and there are various other factors, but I'd still like to inquire. How did you end up finding a job in Japan? What status of residency/visa did you apply for? And how long have you been working in Japan for?

Thank you for your reply by the way!

To get narration jobs I went around to all the major agencies, introduced myself, and gave them demo tapes and a resume. I was introduced to some of the agencies by friends, and that helped. (Networking is very important in Japan.)

I am not an immigration lawyer, and my experience was a couple of decades ago so I won't attempt to give you advice on visa matters, but you might look into alternatives to ordinary working visas.

Personally, if you're still in University and want to find a way to be in Japan right now, I would look into one of the many University programs open to foreign students in Japan. I know Kansai Gaidai has English language instruction, I have some friends who spent a year studying abroad there. It's outside Osaka, but I think you need to work on your Japanese language skills if you want to attend Japanese seiyuu school. You could always go for a program like Gaidai and if your Japanese improves enough apply for seiyuu school then. Or you could try getting into a Summer program someplace like Sophia University in Tokyo. Again, I know they have programs that are taught in English because I know people who have attended.

To actually get a job with a Japanese company (outside of teaching) you need to be relatively fluent or have friends who are relatively fluent to help you out.

I know a lot of people who have gotten "dream" type jobs in Japan, for some it has worked out and for some it has not. Japan is a really different work environment and lot of beginning salaries are very low. There is the expectation that the person working said job will be living at home with their family. I am pretty sure I met Jenya in person in 2009. Everyone I know who lives/lived in Japan finished college first and were at least 21 when they came to Japan to try to live for several years. Most started as English teachers and then got other jobs.

It can be really hard to get PR. I have a friend who has been living in Japan for more than a decade, has spent more than a decade at her current job and still was not able to get PR. Most people I know who live in Japan have Work Visas which they get renewed. It's really not that onerous as long as you actually have a paying job to sponsor you, aka usually a teaching a position. It only becomes onerous if you don't have a paying job, which happened to one person I knew because she hated teaching English.

@Umami Dearest
Sounds good. I'll try and take my first step into the industry while still in Canada to build experience before moving on then. However, I probably won't have any connections while in Japan, so that may be a problem in the end!

Two more questions for you if you don't mind answering them however:

- How fluent are you in Japanese?
- Although your experience with immigration was decades ago, may I still inquire about the process? I understand that the process is most likely vastly different nowadays, but providing some insight may still spark some ideas for me.

Thanks!

@rkold
The university I will be attending in the upcoming fall semester offers an exchange program to various different universities in Japan and I do have plans of attending one. It may not be rigorous or as intense as language schools are, but at least it will help me in learning the language (there is also an experience aspect to it, so that's another plus). It shouldn't delay graduation either since I have already planned to take classes yearlong, so I see no cons here.

For starters, I'm looking to get into teaching English in Japan so I can at least get into the country and live there. I also acknowledge that I may be trapped in a teaching job for years, but I'll prepare myself for that.

PR & naturalization were just side-ideas. I may never be able to obtain it, but thankfully, PR isn't mandatory for being able to stay in Japan.

Ultimately, the goal is to be able to live in Japan and speak the language fluently. However, my dream job is to become a seiyuu or at least become involved in the anime/light novel industry (as I enjoy writing), but for writing to be a viable option for me, I must learn the language down to its core AND study the culture.