Why foreigners FLEE from living in Japan

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Hello everyone! Some of you probably have a dream of one day moving to Japan and living here for the rest of your life, or at least for the foreseeable future. I’ve met many foreigners who move to Japan with the same dream, but were so excited to leave after a short time living here.So why do most of them LEAVE Japan??

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[MrsEats]

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We're so excited to be back! What reasons do you think would make you want to leave Japan?

[FSAPOJake]

Japan has so much going for it. But the extremely toxic work culture and limited space along with culture shock in general is a big wake-up call for foreigners that want to move there.

[brunoyudi]

can`t speak for other foreigners, but for ME it was because of the work culture in Japan.
i used to work on a bentoya factory while studying Japanese AND art, i had to work between 10 to 12 hours a day, every day, pushing a +100kg cart full of rice, standing, with a single break and no resting time, and once a week i was obligated to work from 2 to 4 hours of overtime.
At first you think you can manage things through, but this routine slowly starts to erode your mental health, by the end i was having heavy panic attacks from the amount of caffeine and lack of sleep

[gundampharmacist]

Lived in Japan for four months in Osaka prefecture as part of a study abroad program, and I have to say, yes, while Japan does have an issue of earning a lot less than someone in America might, the disparity between what it means to be poor in Japan and poor in America cannot be denied. Having even a poor wage in Japan still means being able to afford an apartment, afford public transit, afford food, all the necessities and being able to get by even with a couple hobbies frugally, and hopefully have a career path you won’t have to upend your life every couple years to get ahead. I won’t lie, you won’t bring in the big bucks, but it’s very easy to live within your means in Japan.

Being poor in America depends on what part of America you’re in, BUT from where I live, it means being priced out of studio apartments, it means having to constantly shift living circumstances whenever you need a new job, it means living on government and/or family assistance, it means needing a bloody car to get everywhere, it means living on a knife’s edge whether or not you can pay the bills. Sure, you might get ahead, but it’s just as likely for someone in the situation I’m describing to be trapped in that situation with no chance of upward mobility.

If you want to live an opulent, rich, wealthy lifestyle, you’ll likely have a better chance as a non-native Japanese in America. However, if you’re just looking for a decent, humble but dignified living, then IMHO you’re way better off financially in Japan than America - especially if you’re able to work for a multinational company or an organization that pays you in dollars instead of yen.

[Mimi-mxsk]

I have lived in several countries, but when I lived in Japan I felt so incredible lonely. I had friends, but once there is conflict, Japanese people ghost you, instead to talk about the issue. The pressure about a good reputation, can make you sick. I was excluded from social events, because I was "a Gaijin".

I worked 12+ hours on heals, whilst the male coworkers where allowed to wear comfortable shoes. A person tried to cut my blond hair in a train. Somehow my boobs were touched on a busy train ride (several times). I also got followed a lot.

I had a lot of positiv experience as well. But the constant pressure of a good reputation, overtime, loneliness made me move. My mental health improved so much.

[TZMurakumo]

As someone about to leave Japan after 14 years here, if I can make a couple of additions:

- Onerous amounts of paperwork
- Contingent employment (not special to Japan within education, but massively growing within Japanese society as a huge portion of people are limited contract employees)
- Bureaucracy (and its unproductive work)
... which leads to a focus on working hard (often through deliberately making the work more arduous and less efficient) over efficacy
- The lost decades (3 going on 4 now) in which wages haven't risen and the yen is becoming weaker, meaning it falls farther and farther behind costs to travel/visit other places (home and family in my case) over time
- Intransigence in the face of change and a lack of agility in business and education (cannot react in time to changes)
- Vertical hierarchical structures that remove agency from many people
- Rules often supersede ethics and moral action or outcomes in helping others (and thus politeness is often confused with kindness; though there are many kind people too)... part of this is an avoidance of culpability (see the following point) and people avoiding taking responsibility for making a decision, ("*I* wasn't an asshole--it was the rule. You can't blame me for following a bad rule... in fact, I was a good person because I followed the rule, even if it was obvious bad or injurious to others")... While this can also be seen in foreign businesses too, it is likely more widespread here, and part of this avoidance of taking responsibility for a decision is slow and ineffective decision by committee (my father had to deal with this for years at his engineering firm in the states and it drove him mad... we obviously see this often in politics as well, whether in the US or Japan).
- Cultural focus on prevention regulatory focus (avoiding "misses" rather than seeking hits) that often selects against those with a promotion regulatory focus (Avoiding errors of omission rather than avoiding all "mistakes") to the extent that many people, businesses, or other institutions are so afraid of making an error that they don't try, thereby guaranteeing their eventual failure (I have seen this many times with language students who don't feel confident enough to try using their English and practice it, and so never get the practice and natural feedback to build the skill, thus leading to their inability to pass an exit exam at the end of their studies as English majors at the end of 4 years at a university... the same concept applies to many other places and interactions).

There are many things I love about Japan, and I don't mean to complain for the sake of complaint, but see myself as a "defensive pessimist, " which really means an optimist at heart, who wants to see actual improvements through identifying issues in the hopes that things can be improved--if you can't identify the correct problem, there's no hope in finding the appropriate solution (e.g. The gov needs to take economic and social considerations, lack of daycare access, etc. into account in figuring out ways to get people to have more children, rather then just yelling at them that it's their duty, "women are baby making machines, " and hey young people, go get drunk more to support our taxes on alcohol to take care of our old people. If you don't address the pain points for people who would potentially want to have kids but feel it's not a viable option for them, then you aren't going to get them to bite the bullet and make the decision; or if they do make that decision despite lack of support and viability, you're going to see a less healthy populous and [even] more childhood poverty.)

There was a generation of critical thinkers who proved to be a thorn in the side of established, old guard politicians (Japanese university riots in the late 60s), but they were stamped down incredibly hard and later, there was subsequently a new focus on "moral education" in schools with a strong focus on respecting authority and positions of power rather than critically questioning... and after decades of this we see a society and higher education system which on the surface recognizes in some areas they need more creative and critical thinking, and wondering how to engender it while failing to observe that there was a whole system dedicated to educating young people out of it during their formative years. =/

In the end, my decision to move back is grounded in the feeling that there is no opportunity left to make any meaningful difference in my work, and that given, I don't have enough close friendships or family here--meaningful the rest of life--to get me to stay (in part because of, again, the limited contracts and musical chairs that keep shuffling university educators around to different institutions so I am separated from the people I become close to every few years). Staying in Japan does not feel like it will lead to a meaningful life for me out here, and as time goes on, increasingly precludes my ability to spend meaningful time back home with friends and family as the economy and pay fails to move (over 3 decades now) whilst the yen weakens. I simply can't afford to visit back on breaks regularly anymore, even before trying to do something like amass some savings (and this all without having to pay for a family/children).

There are so many things I love about Japan, too, and so I really hope it will see some productive change in the future. For now, I feel like I need to get on with my life instead of wasting it out here in limbo. I'll probably come back to experience some of the things I love, but it'll be as a tourist sometime out in the future. =/

[hermeticbear]

My bff lives in Tokyo. He's been there for over a decade. He was quite fluent in Japanese before moving there. He worked for many years at a company doing graphics for video games before leaving and joining a temp agency. Last year he came back to visit because he had gotten a job offer from one of his temp employers. From what I understand it has better pay and more benefits and it is because he has a high tech skill set for graphics design for video games that isn't common. He is pretty much the success story off all the reasons you listed . The only thing that sets him apart is that he looks foreign and is 6'4". He is a giant. Because he is fluent he has some hilarious stories of Japanese people making rude comments about him within earshot which he waits until he is about to leave them and then says something to them in perfect Japanese. Every time the rude people turn deep crimson and usually run off.

[Spoon]

Japanese people genuinely like it when you make an effort to start a conversation with them when you’re speaking in Japanese, it’s not the rush hour period when people are headed for work or school, or when they aren’t tired after a long day of forcefully smiling at work; the best times are on weekends or during trips, made a lot of connections this way.

[JustEndah]

My family and I moved to Tokyo in 2010.
Because I am a peaceful introvert, Tokyo is paradise for me.
I have lived and been to several countries in four continents, but Tokyo is where I feel home.
I looove Japan and its people. ❤️❤️❤️

[FSAPOJake]

"Japanese people learn English in school! But most of them forget it within a few years of graduating"

That's basically how it is for American kids learning French or Spanish in middle and high school. The way foreign languages are taught here is archaic and needs to be changed.

I forgot basically all of the French I learned in middle and high school... That's 4-5 consecutive years of French classes. Meanwhile, 7-8 years after I graduated, I spent a month doing Pimsleur and learned more French than I ever did in school and can speak it pretty well now (I continued to do Pimsleur after that and would practice with native speakers).

So, basically, the grass can be the same color on both sides sometimes.

[crowofcainhurst]

I lived in tokyo for almost 2 years for work. As much as I love the country and how kind and polite everyone are, I just don't think I could ever feel the sense of belonging there. Definitely will go back for travelling but for another work opportunity? I'd think twice for that. Japan especially Tokyo is perfect for travelling but for work it can be depressing.

[DavidCruickshank]

I always appreciate content that gives people a more realistic view of a subject. Keep up the awesome work!😀

[JenniferNg]

finally a new video! there wasn't a new video since october. i was really worried that something serious happened. i can't wait to see another hilarious and educational video about japan! mrs eats is the best!

[brianc]

I lived in Japan for 2 years, I would say most foreigners leave because of the work culture. It can be extremely strict and you can be working for a black company (a highly corrupted company). Other than that Japan was a really great place to live.

[irregularmana]

I worked with a guy who knew Japanese, lived there for 2 years. He said you either fall in love with it or the constant "gaijin this or that" gets to you and you want to leave asap.

[khonable]

My daughter just graduated university and wants to teach English in Japan. She will need to watch this first, thanks for the heads up!

[formershadow]

Teaching English in Japan was soul-crushing. Yeah, I was in the Tokyo Metropolitan area, but I was broke. With that being said, I had health insurance and still got to travel a bit. But I was so depressed for so very long. I had to leave. I have a skill set that, while it isn't that specialized, I can make more and be comfortable even in a larger city like Los Angeles or NYC as long as I am not too close to the city center. I wouldn't say I like teaching, and that is the only visa that you can get for Japan with relative ease.

[ChickensAndGardening]

As an Asian Studies major in college, I spent some time in Taiwan. Friends who were specializing in Japanese studies spent time in Japan. But the idea of moving to China or Japan just to "live there and experience it" is really an entirely different experience from being there to study the language and culture. When you are a student, you have a strong purpose to be there. But I met ex-patriots who were just living there, teaching English or similar types of work, and it was unclear why they were there. I guess that was the bias of being a student; we felt everyone should have a purpose. Anyway, to sum up this rambling post, it helps to have a purpose in life -- "I am here to study the culture and master the language, for future work" or "I am here to get married" or "I want to learn how to cook Asian cuisine" - all are valid reasons. From what I have seen, people who think "I love anime/manga/ramen, so I want to live in Japan" are likely to be disappointed as Mr. & Mrs. Eats describe -- those simply aren't strong enough reasons to be there, especially when living there will involve a pay cut, permanent social ostracism, loneliness etc. Just my humble opinions :)

[bufordmaddogtannen]

In a nutshell. Moving to Japan without knowing the language and without having any skills is akin to moving to - for example - the UK without knowing English and then complaining about only being able to wash dishes in a restaurant's kitchen.

EDIT: My suggestion is:
- get a college degree (it makes getting a visa easier)
- take a sabbatical year
- travel (and live for a few weeks) to countries you may want to move to
- come back to your home country
- learn / start learning the language of the country you want to move to
- get a job and gain marketable skills for 3 to 5 years
- THEN pack your bags and move

Having a plan with a set goal should help pursue the dream. If you can't do it, maybe it was not your dream after all.

If you are lucky you may even move country courtesy of your employer.

Unless you find appealing the prospect of teaching English (like everybody else), getting white monkey jobs and scraping money together to just get by pretty much until you can't take it anymore.

[davler]

I guess I am the exception, ..I have Lived in Japan now for 12 years, from the moment I got off the plane, it felt more like home to me than the USA, and have been homesick for the USA for about 45 seconds in total.
I went back to the USA for about 1/2 year about 9 years ago, and had reverse culture shock…and couldn’t wait to get back to Japan. The moment I got off the plane again, it was such a relief to hear the japanese announcements. And use my pasmo to buy a oolong tea from a vending machine.
It was really awesome to see the clean streets, eat yakitori, and soba noodles. It felt so great to be in a place where it was the norm to “don’t make trouble for others”. It was really good feeling also, to ride on an on-time quiet train where every one was quiet, nobody talked on the phone, and minded their own business, and prioritized another’s needs over their own. I really missed seeing the clean and colorful construction equipment, and the hello kitty road barriers.
I really enjoyed riding in a clean taxi, where the driver opened the door.:
I have never had a teaching Job, but think it would be awesome to inspire Japanese young people to have confidence in themselves and not be worried if they can’t speak English all that well, after all, here is japan.

Most everything that most foreigners hate about japan. Are the same things I like the most.