Living Advice

I am really close to getting my BA in Arts and i plan on going to japan after i graduate to live i will be a freelance illustrator but i know that will not support me in japan so what can my BA help me get in japan and what are good ideas for owning my own business ? OH and what are tips for a good life in japan any positive Advice is good advice ARIGATO OHGOZAIMASU!!! (^-^)

Have you thought about under what kind of visa status you will live in Japan?

You seem to plan to simply move and live, but to live in Japan as a non-Japanese, you need a visa status. Specific types if you want to get paid for any work.

There is no category of visa status for "freelance" work, so you will need to be employed by a Japanese company (full time) to be sponsored for a work-permitting visa. If you want to set up your own business, there is Business and Investor visa, but it is said to be very difficult to get.

For a native speaker of the English language with a bachelor's degree (in any field, for immigration requirement), with no track record of any work experience at all so far, English teaching job would be a possibility, or about the only thing that comes to mind. You get hired full-time by an English conversation teaching school/company, work there full-time... whether they allow/you would have time for other side jobs would be another question. However, note that the prospects are not that great considering the current economy.

Just wanted to echo AK's sentiments. Unless you've got a job and a work visa, you're not going to be able to stick around in Japan.

Get all that stuff researched and settled first! That is... unless you're a Japanese citizen.

yes I know about the work visa and yes i am going to try to go in as a english assistant , or a Teacher if possible umm how would i go about getting my work visa i am not in a big city i live in Raleigh NC and very close to durham almost between would you have a website that i can go to, to check it out?

"BBOYSTRESS" - it seems to me that you have not done the necessary preps and research that you could / should do by yourself! Just check the web-sites of the Japanese embassy, the ALT sites for getting a job in that field and sites like: jobs in Japan (just those keywords). You will come up with lots of information!

That said, I have to agree with what people already wrote: with the present sluggish economy it will be very difficult finding a job over here that will pay you enough money to survive (this especially in bigger cities like Tokyo, Osaka or Yokohama). Lots of competition, "God and the world" wants to come over here because Japan is just so GREAT! My advice: come over here for vacation first, check out the area and then decide.

Sorry for the maybe little harsh answer, but ....

BBOY, you are already posting on a website that has lots of information on jobs and visas- just do a search on this very site and have a look through the living section.

I second that there is no visa that will allow you to be a freelance illustrator- you will need a full-time job offer from an employer, and English teaching seems the most likely bet.

Google "teaching in Japan" and then start sorting through that information, because there will be plenty.