Work Oppurtunities for Doctor in Japan?

Hi Everyone

I have recently graduated from Medical School in the UK ( 5 Years ) and am looking to move to Japan for family and personal reasons.
I am aware that becoming a Medical Doctor in Japan with a foreign degree is extremely difficult , if not impossible. Despite this , I would like to know how the process would work hypothetically.
I am curious as to other career options that may be available to someone with an MD coming to Japan . Perhaps tutoring medical students in regards to their English or working within a Pharmaceutical company could be ideas.

Note : I have JLPT N2 and looking to pass N1

No. Unfortunately. UK medical license in invalid in JP unless you are sent from UK Govt as a medical treatment doctor for UK residents in JP(JP-UK medical exchange program).

If you have a language tuition Ph.D. you might have a chance to tutoring at JP medical schools as a English instructor(6 months contract part time basis), but the wage is very low.
And also JP medical schools have hierarch which medical school you are from(graduated). Non alumni staffs are low chance to get a job there.

There is a really excellent response to this question in the FAQ section of a Japan-related Reddit forum - I believe it is either the /movingtojapan or /japanlife subreddit. I'd check for you but I'm on a work computer!

If you simply did a Reddit search for this, some of the more recent posts about this question may have been linked to the FAQ section detailing becoming a doctor. People asked it so often they finally stickied the best response. I've skimmed through the response and it is very comprehensive, so I absolutely recommend looking there.

I think previous threads said that you need to pass the Japanese licensing exam, not necessarily have graduated from a Japanese school? I have been treated by doctors here who did their schooling and residencies overseas, so I don't think that a Japanese degree is required. Not that it's an easy feat to pass, but if you are near N1 and have to come here anyway for family reasons it could be an option for a few years down the road, though most likely your patients would be from the expat community.

I have one friend who makes a good living doing full time pharmaceutical translation, so medical translation and interpretation could be an option. Medical English classes are have a decent hourly rate, though most wouldn't be more than an hour or two a week so not a full time job.

Are you considering to move into the pharmaceutical industry or CRO? If yes, there might be opportunities without any need to convert your title into a Japanese medical degree.

Give me a mail if you are interested and I can explain a bit better.

because you can read and understand Japanese, I will write the information in Japanese.
外国で所定の課程を修了した人は日本の医師国家試験の受験資格があるはずです。ただ、あなたは５年の過程を修了しただけなので（日本では６年必要です）、受験資格に質疑が生じる可能性があります。厚生労働省の所轄の部署（日本語が読めるなら、容易に調べられます）に問い合わせて下さい。
その他必要な情報はすべて厚生労働省のホームページにあります。自分で調べて下さい。
試験は日本語です。（日本人の患者を診るのに英語は必要ありません）
試験に合格すると、その後インターンを経る必要があります（たぶん２年間？）
この文章を理解できないようでしたら、残念ながらあなたの日本語はまだまだですので、受験しても合格するのは無理でしょう。なお、試験をパスするには、日本語の医学専門用語を理解していることが前提ですので、通常の日本語の理解だけでは無理です。（ほとんどの日本人は医学専門用語を理解していませんので、普通の日本人以上の語学力が必要とお考えください）

Please excuse my ignorance, but what is "luggage blogger one" ? Is it a brand? Or a typo and you simpky search for a shop where to buy a suitcase?

My GP here in Fukuoka got his training in the Netherlands and runs his private clinic. So, there is a way..

Sorry, I have no idea how my reply to a completely different thread about luggage ended up here.

I actually wanted to reply to you, regarding work options in Japan with a medical degree. If you are interested in working in pharmaceutical industry or CROs, there might be an opportunity for you there, where you do not need to validate your medical title in Japan. Specially with your Japanese and English skills. The one weak point I see is your lack of working experience as a doctor, as most medical monitors join the industry after having worked several years as physicians. But this could partially be overcome by your skill set in Japanese & English and partially by the fact that you would likely start at a lower level than medical monitor.

If this is something you are seriously interested as a career option, give me an email ( I think if you click on my user name you can send me a private email).

Pharmaceutical industry however is quite a different working environment from working as a GP or in a hospital, and it might be a decision for life. I am not saying that it is a bad, but it might simply not be what you want to be in your life, if you studied medicine in order to treat patients directly.
If you are unsure if this is a career option you want to entertain, search out medical monitor or clinical research associate (CRA) positions in the UK to understand what the job in general entails.

Medical translation in my eyes would only seem to be an option if your Japanese is very good and includes all the medical terms. And it would be Japanese to English only, for which work should be available. This puts you also far from treating patients, and in my experience (working with translators and working myself in pharmaceutical industry / CRO), the later is much more interesting and diverse than translation. And does pay much better ;-)
If however translation is what you want to do, try reaching out to Honyaku center: https://www.honyakuctren.com/ I have made good experience with their talented translators and interpreters. Transperfect is an other option, a global player on this field. Not always as good as Honyaku center, where it is Japanese / English only.

Enjoy preparing your move to Japan!

You have some good advice so far. One person mentioned about getting N1. I think if you're really thinking of being a doctor in Japan, passing N1 should be a fairly distant memory. You need to be substantially better than that.

I've been going to the Tokyo Medical and Surgical Clinic (http://tmsc.jp/ ) for years, and most of the doctors there trained in the UK or other European countries, so there is certainly room for foreign-trained doctors here. It certainly seems like a better option than medical translation.

You can get your qualifications in your country and become a doctor here with out going to school here at all. But, the catch is you need pass the 医師国家試験.

This is the process to become a Dr here is as follows for a typical Japanese. But you can start at number 3 and when you have completed your internship in your country and are qualified in a particular feild , you can then skip to No.5.


医者になるまでの道のり
1. 医学部受験に合格する
　 超難関の医学部受験。医者を目指す者にとっての最初の試練
　 ▼
2. 医学部（全6年制）を無事卒業する
　 実は受験よりも、入ってからの勉強の方が大変！留年する者も多い
　 ▼
3. 医師国家試験に合格する
　 試験は毎年3月、医学部の卒業試験後になる
内容は難しいものの、合格枠が大きいので９割近くの卒業生は合格する
　 ▼
4. 2年間の卒後臨床研修を全うする
　 肉体的・精神的・そして金銭的にも、医者の最も厳しい期間と言われる
この間に自分の専門とする診療科を決める
　 ▼
5. 正式な医師となる
　 ここまできてようやく一人前の医者と認められる

http://www.mhlw.go.jp/topics/2012/05/tp0525-01.html