Why I came to Japan
I moved to Japan at the end of August to start work for a company called IBJ Leasing, now Mizuho Leasing. I'm in the International Department, which has about two dozen employees and oversees operations at our affiliated offices in China, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand. Within our Department, I am the only foreigner; in fact, there are no other native English speakers in the entire company!
Most of the westerners who live in Japan are either English teachers or they were sent here by an international company. The others--and there aren't that many--who are working at local companies likely are living here long term. They might have a family here, and they probably speak Japanese. On the other hand, before coming to Japan, I'd never studied Japanese. I also don't see myself staying here long term.
So you might be wondering how I landed this job. Well, for one thing, it's just an internship. I am getting paid, but my job title is an intern on a one year contract. Our graduate program at the University of California San Diego has a long relationship with IBJ/Mizuho Leasing, and for over 20 years they have hired an intern for the year, either from the graduating class or from the first year students (and then the intern would return to San Diego to finish the degree the following year).
Last year, during my second year of my masters, I was still unsure what professional direction I'd take after graduation. I had applied to the State Department in the fall of 2018 and passed the initial assessment. In January 2019, my application passed the next step, but I knew I was no where near the finish line. If I eventually succeeded with State, I'd have to get through an in person interview, a background check, and several other steps. I figured that would take at least a year.
In March the job application for this internship was posted on our program's career board. It had potential, but when I read through the details I saw that I'd be in the office for the normal work day, plus teaching an extra English class 2-3 times a week in the morning beforehand. Including a housing stipend, it only paid 270,000 yen a month, or about $2,500. My initial reaction was: am I going to grad school to become an intern? Why would I work more hours and take less money than I could make just going back to my old job in China? (well, the pay was similar, but in China that covered my housing costs too; plus, cost of living there was far lower than Tokyo)
I'd already gone trough several ultimately unsuccessful interviews and sent out my resume to many employers who simply didn't respond, however, and after thinking over it, I decided to apply. Although it wasn't ideal, it did have upsides. I talked with one of our career counselors, and he said that if I applied, I would have a good shot at getting the offer given my grades, academic interests, and prior teaching experience. The fact that I didn't speak Japanese wouldn't disqualify me. It would be nice to get an offer somewhere, to get something set up before graduation--the last thing I wanted to do was to reach the summer without a job and move back with my parents in Ohio!
Plus, the timeline was good for me--I could wait for a year on the State Department. By the end of the internship in Japan, I would have either passed the in-person interview, likely gotten my security clearance, and been close to starting training, or would have been rejected and then could focus on the private sector. Although I never studied Japanese and am not a big anime/manga guy, I still thoroughly enjoyed the country during my visits (in 2018, 2017, 2015, and 2009). My year there would cover the Rugby World Cup in the fall, and then hopefully I could stick around for the Olympics--I have always wanted to be in a city when it hosts the Games.
Long story short, I interviewed in April 2019 and got the offer in early May. By then, graduation was nearly a month away, and the idea of locking up a job (well, internship) sounded enticing. Most of the other students hadn't yet gotten offers; some hadn't even started applying to jobs. I accepted in mid-May and we set a tentative start date for mid-August, about two months after graduation.
I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but I ended up coming to Tokyo at the end of August to start in September. Now that it's early April, that means I've been here over seven months already! Overall the job isn't very demanding--in fact, I'd prefer more to do--but I don't have any big complaints. The postponement of the Olympics was a disappointment, but I'm still looking forward to summer. Hopefully by then covid-19 transmission will have slowed and I can get out more and enjoy my last few months in Tokyo. Well, I still don't know where I'll be after August; I passed my oral interview at State, but am still waiting on my clearances, after which I have to wait longer to get selected for a training class. So I could still be here, who knows!
Next post I'll get into what I actually do day-to-day, and then I'll probably do another coronavirus update, depending on how things evolve here, so stay tuned.
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| View from Mizuho Leasing's website (https://www.mizuho-ls.co.jp/en/index.html). The company is mostly focused on the domestic market, but they have several offices in Asia and are growing internationally |
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| Map of central Tokyo; the office is between Tokyo Tower and the Imperial Palace, near the border of Chiyoda and Minato wards |
Most of the westerners who live in Japan are either English teachers or they were sent here by an international company. The others--and there aren't that many--who are working at local companies likely are living here long term. They might have a family here, and they probably speak Japanese. On the other hand, before coming to Japan, I'd never studied Japanese. I also don't see myself staying here long term.
 |
| Many of the Westerners who live in Japan short term are English teachers, something I'd done in Korea. |
So you might be wondering how I landed this job. Well, for one thing, it's just an internship. I am getting paid, but my job title is an intern on a one year contract. Our graduate program at the University of California San Diego has a long relationship with IBJ/Mizuho Leasing, and for over 20 years they have hired an intern for the year, either from the graduating class or from the first year students (and then the intern would return to San Diego to finish the degree the following year).
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| My masters degree was in International Affairs at UCSD (in San Diego) |
Last year, during my second year of my masters, I was still unsure what professional direction I'd take after graduation. I had applied to the State Department in the fall of 2018 and passed the initial assessment. In January 2019, my application passed the next step, but I knew I was no where near the finish line. If I eventually succeeded with State, I'd have to get through an in person interview, a background check, and several other steps. I figured that would take at least a year.
In March the job application for this internship was posted on our program's career board. It had potential, but when I read through the details I saw that I'd be in the office for the normal work day, plus teaching an extra English class 2-3 times a week in the morning beforehand. Including a housing stipend, it only paid 270,000 yen a month, or about $2,500. My initial reaction was: am I going to grad school to become an intern? Why would I work more hours and take less money than I could make just going back to my old job in China? (well, the pay was similar, but in China that covered my housing costs too; plus, cost of living there was far lower than Tokyo)
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| With TAing in the spring I would be quite busy, and getting a job offer, albeit a temporary one, would make my last quarter more enjoyable |
Plus, the timeline was good for me--I could wait for a year on the State Department. By the end of the internship in Japan, I would have either passed the in-person interview, likely gotten my security clearance, and been close to starting training, or would have been rejected and then could focus on the private sector. Although I never studied Japanese and am not a big anime/manga guy, I still thoroughly enjoyed the country during my visits (in 2018, 2017, 2015, and 2009). My year there would cover the Rugby World Cup in the fall, and then hopefully I could stick around for the Olympics--I have always wanted to be in a city when it hosts the Games.
 |
| An added bonus was living in Tokyo during the Olympics; obviously that's changed with covid-19, which was a big bummer for me since I'll likely live elsewhere next summer |
Long story short, I interviewed in April 2019 and got the offer in early May. By then, graduation was nearly a month away, and the idea of locking up a job (well, internship) sounded enticing. Most of the other students hadn't yet gotten offers; some hadn't even started applying to jobs. I accepted in mid-May and we set a tentative start date for mid-August, about two months after graduation.
I think I mentioned this in a previous post, but I ended up coming to Tokyo at the end of August to start in September. Now that it's early April, that means I've been here over seven months already! Overall the job isn't very demanding--in fact, I'd prefer more to do--but I don't have any big complaints. The postponement of the Olympics was a disappointment, but I'm still looking forward to summer. Hopefully by then covid-19 transmission will have slowed and I can get out more and enjoy my last few months in Tokyo. Well, I still don't know where I'll be after August; I passed my oral interview at State, but am still waiting on my clearances, after which I have to wait longer to get selected for a training class. So I could still be here, who knows!
Next post I'll get into what I actually do day-to-day, and then I'll probably do another coronavirus update, depending on how things evolve here, so stay tuned.
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