How do you find a job in Japan?

Question:

I've been trying to get a job in Japan for as long as I can remember. But it seems that my strategies are not working(as I'm still working in US). And with a family to support, I cannot really quit everything and go to Japan directly. That would be too selfish. I'm wondering if there is any other ways to get a decent job in Japan. I'm in software engineering, so there are a lot of jobs out there. I guess it's my strategy. I tried to get a teaching job at first, but I don't have the experience and failed the interviews miserably. Then I tried job sites online. Also I tried my friend in Japan, but that goes nowhere either. I also tried a few agents, but I don't think that's a good way to go.

Language-wise, I'm about intermediate Japanese level. I can read articles on asahi.com, a bit slow but I don't think language will be a big problem.

Thanks for any input, encouragement, comments. This is my dream so it's very important to me.

Answer:

The US Army, Navy, and Airforce have American bases in Japan. You can go to job announcement sites like USA Jobs (www.usajobs.com) and do searches on "Japan" as location of the job.

In the 1960s my dad got a job in Japan working for the US Army Computer Systems Command. We all moved over there and lived just outside Tokyo for 6 years and I have some of the best memories of my life there. We lived off base with the Japanese in a Japanese house. In fact my bedroom had Soji rice screen all the way around it and Tatami mats on the floor... we slept on Futons (Japanese Futons... not American ones)... and our playmates were mostly Japanese.

Otherwise I don't think the Japanese will hire you directly. They have a very homogenized society and you can only stay there for a short period of time... you can't emigrate there. When we lived there the cost of living was very low and $1 was equal to 360 yen. I just remember I could buy a whole handful of candy for 10 yen and their bubble gum was the best! My dad was a GS9 with the Gov't yet we had a full time servant in the house. I lived there from age 5 to 12. I didn't even give myself a bath for a good part of that time... believe it or not!! We lived in the lap of luxury for sure. The tables are turned now. Things are expensive compared to a usual American salary and you might be hard pressed to live off base.