Going on sabbatical to do training

This is kind of a unique situation, but I was hoping to hear some general advice or knowledge.

I am currently working at a Japanese company full-time as a seishain, but I am planning to leave and have discussed it with my boss, who is ok with my decision. Before I leave and transition to a new job, I wanted to do some professional training in Japan for two months. My boss graciously said I could stay on with the company while I do the training, but I will still need to come into the office on weekends while I do the training on weekdays. My salary will also be reduced during this time. Unlike a normal sabbatical where I am expected to return to the company, I will be leaving the company for a new position once the training is over.

I would like to know if there would be any problems with this arrangement, especially when I renew my visa next year. I have a engineer/humanities visa that allows me to work in Japan until 8/2021. Although my hours and pay will change, my contract will not. I plan to renew my visa next year, and I am not sure if I have to explain why my salary was reduced, and if a sabbatical would be sufficient reasoning. I thought about quitting, then doing the training and job hunting, but since the training is two months and there is a three month grace period to find a job, I feel that my job hunting time would be incredibly limited, so I wanted to be employed while doing the training so that when I do leave at the end of the training, I will have more time for job hunting.

Kind of a strange situation, but I wanted to know if there would be any problems with this arrangement or if anyone else has a similar experience. Thanks.

When is it that you are planning to do the training/job change in relation to the resident status expiry? Are you planning to renew it with the current employer but leave quite soon afterwards?

In essence you are trying to secure 5 months (instead of the usual ga few monthsh) between jobs to maintain the current resident status, by asking to stay on the payroll of the current employer but in reality not working, which might not fly well in a country where the concept of gsabbaticalh isnft too common (at least it would not be a single-word reason you could give to immigration if asked about it).

Certainly there are Japanese companies which allow their employees to attend, or actually send their employees to, specific training courses for a time away from work in order to enrich their skills/ensure their development (and subsequent contribution to the company), but this doesnft seem to be the case here.

In any case, it sounds like the timing might matter in your case, so Ifll wait for your comment.

The training will be from April to June. My work visa expires on August 2021. My worry is that if I quit when the training starts, I will only have a month to secure a job. The overall purpose of me staying on is that I would have more job hunting time after the training ends. I do not plan to return to my current company once training is complete.

My boss is ok with the arrangement of me staying on the payroll and working weekends at a reduced pay. I am just wondering if it is ok for me to do this, or if it will come back to bite me when I renew my visa. I heard that when renewing your visa, if you changed jobs then they only need documents from your current job, and a letter indicating your last day at your previous job.

Presumably your visa is for full-time work, but once you start working only weekends you won't be a full-time employee (and if your boss continues to list you as full-time, they're lying to Immigration). Your best bet is to ask Immigration directly, or an immigration lawyer.

So your plan is to try to find a new job during July and August, and then renew the resident status (once you are in Japan, you donft call it gvisah but you call it gresident statush) with the new employer in August? Be sure to find one, get the application submitted, gbeforeh the current resident status expires.

Well, people usually start looking for a new job while still working at the current employer.
Also it is not that exactly three months pass and then the immigration authorities come to your door and revoke your resident status, or anything like that. It is a gguideline.h

My concern is more with the legality of it rather than the convenience of/time for looking for work. Maybe your being gseishain,h things might be viewed differently, but at the end of the current employment contract, you will have a few months where you will be working for a far reduced salary (comparing 5 days a week versus just the weekends), which IF used to apply for a new visa would not qualify (2/5 of the current salary, I assume). Soc while the employment with the same employer continues, in essence you are going to a part-time position, which is not enough to justify a work visa on its own (if applied anew). Maybe I am thinking too much. Maybe it might just be fine. If you can, I suggest checking with an immigration lawyer.