☆ENGLISH ONLY☆コミュのHEY EVERYONE! who wants to help me??

entertainment industry.
No degree for entertainment industry. I have already worked with Shing02 and Ai, the RnB singer, here in LA so basically i need to be doing ANYTHING in japan for about a year while I get good at japanese. then i can work for Toho, Toei, Kadokawa, NHK, or any other wntertainment company.
I am just trying to figure out what to do in the mean time.

I admire your confidence about being able jump strat into a job with Toho, Toei, Kadokawa, NHK et al, after a year in Japan and in the current economic environment.

As far as working in the Japanese media, this might be a place to start: www.remonaid.com

Of course, you will need a valid working visa, so this link might help too: www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/index.html

There is the Holiday Working Visa which doesn't require a degree... but the US doesn't have that.

You NEED a degree in order to get a working visa. No way around it. The ONLY sneak around is if you were in a similar industry for 3 years, and already have a job lined up in Japan that is willing to sponser you. Then they would have reason to approve you for a Visa. But even that isn't guaranteed.

Easiest option for you right now is just go to school in Japan, or continue building work experience.

thank you all for your advices! i know its a big dream, not only is the entertainment industry difficult, but also the world economy is bad AND i have to deal with foreign immigration policies...its pretty much the hardest I could have chosen.... but it has been my dream since i was a child to live and work in japan...SO, i know it will be tough and i know there will be a lot of set backs, but Iknow if i keep studying japanese and keep meeting contacts that I WILL BE ABLE to. i am thankful for your answers cuz i want to have as many perspectives and ideas as i can get. i have been making a number of professional contacts in japan, but the more options the better. so for now the plan would be
Continue studying japanese
Continue Making Industry Contacts in Japan
Look into going to School In Japan
Look into Acting and Modeling in Japan (even though i have no experience haha)
Save up the Money and go to japan on a fact finding mission and feel things out
then just go from there...
thanks again everyone!

how about looking for a japanese wife?

it is the easiest way actually..........yeah, its so uncool, but believe me, a lot of people do that

and it`s a big plus just by being an american

naa, kidding, best bet is to earn a degree in japan

yea i guessi need to go to school in japan....bummer i was so tired of school. but it must be done....thanks again.

I think you're allowed a 90 day visitors visa. If you can
afford it why don't you try going over for 3 months.
If you or any of your friends have contacts in the Japanese
film industry look them up. Give them a bottle of nice
scotch, if it comes up let them know you were hoping
to work in Japan at some stage in the future but don't
ask them to help you. If they offer thank them but
don't expect anything and don't hound them. If they
were serious they will make enquiries on your behalf.
Just stay in contact but keep it low key.
You can knock on doors but often you might as well
be knocking on brick walls.

no one will hire without a degree unless you have some special skill or talent that a company is willing to put up money sponsorship for. No degree no Japan.

kiss your dream goodbye, go back to college and get a degree


or you can do what some of you yanks do, fake your degree and get a job....smoke some pot....get your visa terminated!

well george that is uplifting....but the ENTERTAINER VISA covers working in the film industry. soooo if i have contacts in that industry i could get that visa. i'm not an actor, i'm crew. I am an editor and do grip electric swing as well...i'd say those are skills ya?

Just out of curiousity, what can a person with a degree actually do better then a person without a degree? - Apply for a Job in Japan easily now is not an valid answer. Thanks for your info in advance.

Oh, I think it's funny...

There's a global recession in case you've not noticed. Many industries throughout are cutting heads and your thinking you can relocated for a new job and career? The recession is bad in the USA, bad in Europe, worst Asia and worst still in Japan

Sorry, it's bad timing if your thinking of doing now!!

oh i know its bad timing, but one thins that always survives economic hard times is the entertainment industry. it survived the great depression and it will survive this. soo yeah i know its not the best timing, but for all we know i could get to japan and there will be an economic turn around and i will be on the ground floor. or i could fail miserably. "you always hedging on a safe bet, walking a tightrope with a safety net, face it, it doesnt mean shit unless you take a risk" - 3OH!3. nothing ventured nothing gained....soooo what do i have to lose, i am not working in america and if i cant get a job in japan, no biggie i still have an economic crisis in america to come home to. point is, you only live once,(in this form if you are Buddhist) so take risks to make it as intersting and fun as you can.

From what I've heard, the Japanese entertainment industry isn't so keen on working with foreigners who are behind the scenes.

Sure, if you want to appear in a commercial making exaggerated movements and shouting stupid shit like "Green da-yo!", you might have a chance, but friends who are involved in any creative industry in Japan say that their creative ideas are almost always ignored.

If you have technical skills and can do exactly what the person in charge wants without giving your opinion about it, you would probably have more of a chance.

But you're going to need a degree. And Japan is no longer the land of milk and honey, so just being able to speak Japanese isn't going to open as many doors as you might think.

seal pool. thank you, potentially the most helpful unbiased and honest response yet. I have heard that it is fairly shut out to foreigners. Especially in the creative sense. in some of the other responses i sense a bit of "douchiness" although they are being honest it felt kind of "douchey" you answer is just matter of fact and calm, so yeah thanks for being civil while dealing out the cold hard truth.

Mike(マイク）

seriously...not trying to rain on your parade or squash your dreams here, but Japan is an extremely difficult county to get into. Even if you had a degree, I don't care if its a BA a BS or a phD, it'd still be difficult. A degree is only one of the requirements. You need a proper job too. Not to mention that you've got competition from people in Europe and Asia who also share the same dream and are more qualified.

Secondly, language skills. You seem eager to learn which is a good thing, but in reality, a lot of Japanese people are reluctant to hire people who can't speak good Japanese, because many of them cannot speak good English. Yes, there are a lot of English speaking employers over here, but again the competition is steep. You need to conform to their needs not vise-versa.

An entertainment visa works only if you have a regular show here (like an acting job, tv show, stage show, etc) and if its pretty steady (which is rare). Otherwise, you'll find an entertainer visa is a lot more temporary than you might imagine.

Money....you need lots of it unless you can find someone to hire you on the spot or before you even come to Japan (which is extremely rare unless you possess some rare and badly needed skill, or if you're a CEO of some multinational company. Otherwise you'd barely last a week here.

Finally, there are no short cuts or easy ways in. I am half Japanese, bilingual, and I have relatives who live here, As a matter of fact aside from my mother, ALL my relatives live in Japan, which should have made it ultra easy for me to get in, but it still took me 11 years (of trying) to establish permanent residence here. My advice to you is to you is that if you are REALLY serious about moving here, and that this goes beyond a dream but a life's ambition, and for reasons besides anime and girls, then go to college...study Japanese intensely ...go to Japan at least once a year and make sure that this is where you want to be ...study the people ....study the immigration laws and make sure that you qualify to get in ...find out what the job demand is over here and and become skilled in that area ...etc. I had to all of the above, because my blood ties helped very little. Finally, be prepared to argue your case because the guys at immigration office won't help you....it'd be quite the contrary.

good luck

Sea Pool

I am also a part time actor here, and do some the CMs that you mentioned above. Basically none of those types of gigs are stable. You basically have to audition every time there is cast call, and that's assuming you're even invited to a cast call.

About 99.9% of the foreigners in Japanese CMs are not full time actors on entertainer's visa. They are all regular Joe's who have steady day jobs and do the acting as a hobby, because its not steady work nor does it pay well. The other 0.1% are professional entertainers who do not live in Japan

Entertainer visa's are usually for big name entertainers like Madonna or Bruce Willis who come to Japan for few days to appear on TV shows or in commercials. Since they are being paid for their performances by Japanese companies, they need a proper working visa, since a tourist visa or no-visa prohibits working professionally (getting paid) in Japan. And a working visa carries too many requirements which makes it difficult for Hollywood entertainers to get, so they have theyentertainers visa instead, which is temporary. I'm not sure (doubt) that it allows you stay in Japan permanently -just as long as your gig lasts.

this is all great advice, after taking all this into consideration i guess i need to go back to school and work my ass off to learn japanese. and the idea about visiting at least once a year is a great one. i have been interested in japan my whole life, ( i have my kindergarden "young authors" bookto prove it haha) but not because of anime or any of that jive, its the culture and the people i like,plus the food is the best in the world. in my opinion. anyway. visiting will help me be sure i wontbe tired of it ect. so yeah back to school. maybe even do ryugakusei ya know. if im gonna go back to school why not go in japan. i'm only 20 so its not the end of the world to have to go back to school....its actually sounding more and more like the ONLY option haha.

I have a similar dream Mike, in the entertainment industry. I'm looking to be an actor in Japan, or something of the sort. I however will have a degree in theatre once I graduate.
But I'm still dreaming big, and you should too!
Don't get discouraged I think, but at the same time, don't be delusional.
You may have to live on an extremely low budget at times, and it could get hard and scary.
But go for it!

im not discouraged, im just accepting there is no FAST ROUTE into japan. i am making contacts with japanese profesionals ect, and getting experience. so we will see what happens.