Working in Osaka ?

Hi people of Japan-guide!

I'm a 25 year old Swede who recently was on vacation in Osaka and managed to fall in love with the most wonderful woman on earth, and we both have strong feelings for each other. I would really like to be with her as much as possible and even if I can afford to travel to Japan many times during the year I was thinking of actually try and get a work there.

I could ask her if she knows where to search for work, but then again this forum have helped me before so I try here too. The main business I look for work is the Construction industry because it's there I've worked all my life and know how it is. Doesn't really matter what type of work there is and the salary isn't that important to start with.

Just want to get into the Japanese society, practise more on my Japanese and of course be with my woman :)

I know there are allot of Latin-American workers around Tokyo who got jobs, but I have no idea where to look or what rules there is for VISA and so on. If anyone have any experience from what I ask for or can answer my questions, I am forever grateful!

Thanks for reading / Joakim

Joakim,

Obtaining work-permitting visa (I use this term becaue there is no general "work visa" but instead there are different types) in that field would be difficult.

Basic requirements for work-permitting visa is that you have a bachelor's degree or several years of relevant experiences, and that you have an
employer who will sponsor you for the visa. This means that you will need to have some skills/qualifications that would make a potential employer in Japan hire you over Japanese applicants. But in construction... unless your experiences include something so special that cannot be obtained in Japan, it seems unlikely.

The Latin American workers you have seen "may" have been (I do not know for sure of course) Brazilian with Japanese ancestry, that could have been the reason why there were able to get some special visa to engage in labor that does not require special skills. Or some people come here on "trainee" visa status - under which foreign people can engage in some hands-on training programs to acquire some special skills. This is often used by companies in Japan, in need of relatively cheap labor and knowing that back in their home countries some people are paid very poorly, hire and sponsor people on this status, while they are in reality treated like seasonal laborers, at times with very bad conditions. (But since you already do have experiences, and because you come from Europe, I don't think you could get any company to hire you under this program.)

As far as I can see, the only chance maybe is to enrol in a Japanese language school and stay in Japan under pre-college/student visa, and to do part-time work after a semester or so.