Anyone here from or lived in Japan?

[Awesome_Archy]

So, I've been offered a job that would uproot me from my small West Texas town and move me to Osaka Japan. I have a couple weeks to make my decision, but I have very little knowledge of Japanese culture and "domo arigato mr. roboto" is about as much Japanese I know. I would really like to hear from someone who has first hand experience in this country as I do not have enough time to take a trip over there before I must make my decision. Has anyone here lived in or spent extensive time in Japan?

[lovbyts]

I have not, but almost. I was on the verge of getting laid off and if I got my notice a buddy of mine who was working and living in Japan was going to get me a job working with him. I would not have turned down the opportunity and moved in a minutes notice if I had gotten my notice but I was retained.

If I was single or the family was willing to relocate I would love the opportunity. The culture experience alone would be worth it IMO. Depending on the job though it can be quite stressful and there is a lot of culture changes you need to be open mined about. Remember, you are the guest, this is not the US and the same rules do not apply so dont be arrogant thinking YOUR way or the US way of thinking or believing is necessarily better, it's just different and they have had 1000s of years of different experiences than we have.

I vote do it especially if it makes sense financially. It's a lot more expensive over there than it is here. I would also move just so I would be surrounded by Asian women all the time. lol

[Honkey_Kong]

I suggest you watch Mr. Baseball and take notes.

[gixxerboy1]

i cant remember who it was on here that lived there, but he said being white you are treating like a 2nd class citizen and there is alot of discrimination

[jasc]

i cant remember who it was on here that lived there, but he said being white you are treating like a 2nd class citizen and there is alot of discrimination

Can't remember the name but I know exactly who you're talkin about. He's in his avi.. It's a back shot, real stocky/strong lookin dude. Blondish short hair(shaved or close), some tribal type tattoo, maybe 6-8in. long on his upper back, between shoulder blades. Haven't seen the guy in a while, but hope this helps

(I better preface this post with "no homo")

[Times Roman]

I've worked with the Japanese for years, but did so here in Cali.

Personally, i'd think real hard and long about the move to over there. I didn't like being a second class citizen then, and wouldn't in the future. Most decisions you feel you are participating in are actually already made, and they are trying to get your buy in, not your input. Additionally, you will be at a huge disadvantage if you do not speak the native language. They will talk negatively about you, right to your face, but smiling politely the whole time. Pay raises will be meager, if any. You will be limited in your promotions, since, everything else being the same, the local boy will get the promotion over you.

Just revisting all the above, then personally, I'd pass on the opportunity. I've had enough of their bullshiit for more than two lifetimes.

[Times Roman]

I guess i'm not done. they work alot of hours, and expect the same from you. i came to the office late one night, and there was the president, at 10pm. I'm like.... Mr. I, what are you doing here so late? why are you not with Mrs. I?

his response was that he was in the office "just in case Japan side call". they may look like they work alot of hours, but alot of that is just being in the office not doing anything. not effective hours. but they do expect it, and if you do not participate, that willbe a mark against you.

[Times Roman]

additionally, they are a very sexist society. women in the office are expected to serve tea to the males when a VIP shows up. so our executives had to field several sexual harrassment suits during there stay here.

the decision process is very slow, and by consensus only. they don't typically go for lowest cost as we would expect here in the USA. Instead, they go for "quality" (mostly just a buzz word), so they overinflate the initial price and can therefore lower the price by 2% a year and make the executives look good (continuous improvement).

[Times Roman]

it truly is a society of middlemen. almost like the mafia, where everyone gets a piece of the pie. which is why it is so hard for americans to compete. we can compete on price and quality, it's just that to do so, we would be cutting out the middleman (mafia) and the middleman (mafia) doesn't want that!~

[Times Roman]

there is a huge reason why most asians hate the japanese. especially the chinese and the koreans!!!

[jasc]

To add to Times input..

When I was growing up my dad was the head of international sales for a large technology company, based out of Japan. He was the go-to guy for all of the Japanese executives who wanted/needed to come to the US for the first time. He would also travel there many times a year and stay for weeks at a time.

He had many of the same gripes as Times is mentioning... Very long hrs, they didn't care if you barely ever worked as long as you were sitting in the office 12 hrs a day. Poor treatment, even as an exec. they would smile and act nice to your face and shit on you as soon as you turned your back. His biggest complaint was the advan***ent. In traditional Japanese culture, at least back then, raises were awarded based on seniority, not accomplishment. It didn't matter if you were a top performer or low level, it basically just came down to whoever was with the company the longest got the raise/position.

[Times Roman]

the japanese were so intense on conservation (iso 14001), they required we reuse copy paper a second time, running it through a very expensive Xerox machine. this caused problems and so we had to call the technician out. he adamantly insisted we stop doing this, as it was ruining the machine and would void the warranty. the execs didn't care. they continued to insist we use each paper twice through the copy machine, regardless of this new knowledge of destroying the machine. Well, eventually, it did destroy the machine, and cost several thousand to repair. the executives were furious, as they wanted the warranty to cover it. the technician explained that he looked the other way the last time he was out, but no more. if they insist on reusing copy paper, then they need to bear the consequences.

one sign of intelligence is the ability to adapt to new information. these executives failed at this miserably!!!

[Times Roman]

i have a crap load of horror stories about the japanese...

... the $50k japanese woman that spied on us and monitored our office supply useage
... the VP that liked the boys and would grab their asss, but insisted he wan't gay
... the bachleour party the execs had, complete with hookers and strippers, and insisted on paying for it with corp funds...
... the VP would bring in porn mags into the office and stare at it late at night when no one else was around

but i think you already get the point?

[BigBadWolf]

Can't remember the name but I know exactly who you're talkin about. He's in his avi.. It's a back shot, real stocky/strong lookin dude. Blondish short hair(shaved or close), some tribal type tattoo, maybe 6-8in. long on his upper back, between shoulder blades. Haven't seen the guy in a while, but hope this helps

(I better preface this post with "no homo")

Terrej Took me about 15 mins racking my brain to find it.

[Times Roman]

Terrej Took me about 15 mins racking my brain to find it.

he currently lives there, but hasn't been on the board for awhile. he takes the opposing side when we discuss this issue, and is quite happy living over there.

[Honkey_Kong]

i have a crap load of horror stories about the japanese...

... the $50k japanese woman that spied on us and monitored our office supply useage
... the VP that liked the boys and would grab their asss, but insisted he wan't gay
... the bachleour party the execs had, complete with hookers and strippers, and insisted on paying for it with corp funds...
... the VP would bring in porn mags into the office and stare at it late at night when no one else was around

but i think you already get the point?

The ones I highlighted seemed alright.

[jasc]

Terrej Took me about 15 mins racking my brain to find it.

bingo!

thanks man.. that was drivin me nuts

[gixxerboy1]

bingo!

thanks man.. that was drivin me nuts

lol, yes thats who i was thinking of

[Times Roman]

The ones I highlighted seemed alright.

from a US corporate standpoint, these are serious issues. I was running the HR dept at the time...

[Skyrinegt]

Honestly don't listen to anyone, if I had I wouldn't live in the tropics and work at a job I love, Japan is a beautiful place and yes it's totally different then the US but so is every other place in the world heh. If your up for an adventure take it dude

[Honkey_Kong]

Honestly don't listen to anyone, if I had I wouldn't live in the tropics and work at a job I love, Japan is a beautiful place and yes it's totally different then the US but so is every other place in the world heh. If your up for an adventure take it dude

I agree with you here. Even if working in Japan turns out to really lick balls, it's something new you tried. And that will help you decide your other career choices and life experiences after that.

[tcw]

Dayum...!

---from the sound of this revue---i would reconsider going (unless you are making Big Bucks...like 150k plus).

[Honkey_Kong]

Dayum...!

---from the sound of this revue---i would reconsider going (unless you are making Big Bucks...like 150k plus).

Yeah, but if you're stuck at work 12 hours a day, what good is all that money?

[tcw]

True...but that's life (if your not in the top 1%).

Most people...all they know is work. That's why its so important to LOVE WHAT YOU DO.

On the other hand....if you've got 100 mill in the bank...your options are much broader than the guy who's in debt up to his eyeballs!

QUOTE FROM THE MOVIE WALL STREET

"Lou: The main thing about money, Bud, is that it makes you do things you don't want to do."

"Gordon Gekko: The richest one percent of this country owns half our country's wealth, five trillion dollars. One third of that comes from hard work, two thirds comes from inheritance, interest on interest accumulating to widows and idiot sons and what I do, stock and real estate speculation. It's bullshit. You got ninety percent of the American public out there with little or no net worth. I create nothing. I own. We make the rules, pal. The news, war, peace, famine, upheaval, the price per paper clip. We pick that rabbit out of the hat while everybody sits out there wondering how the hell we did it. Now you're not naive enough to think we're living in a democracy, are you buddy? It's the free market. And you're a part of it. You've got that killer instinct. Stick around pal, I've still got a lot to teach you."

Yeah, but if you're stuck at work 12 hours a day, what good is all that money?

[Awesome_Archy]

Thanks everyone for the info! I managed to get a hold of the previous Pilot and he didn't speak very highly of Japan at all. I was able to email him a copy of my Offer Letter and luckily it's the same exact Offer he got, so I think I'm going to follow what he did. I'll go for 6-12 months, rack up the flight time, make a good bit of money and then Transfer out as soon as I have what I need.

T.R. when I first read your comments I was a bit iffy about your opinions, then I started talking to other American Pilots who have been based out of Japan and WOW I'm sorry I doubted you. Their stories weren't quite as bad as the ones you have, but they weren't far off.