Yes, you read that title right, today's topic is not politically correct, but it is a reality... Japan is known as a nation of workaholics. Regardless of what you think about their productivity, the fact is that most people are expected to stay in the office from 9am to around 8pm, and even after that they are often arm-twisted in to going drinking with colleagues and/or the boss. This means that there isn't...

No one likes to talk about death, but every so often, it confronts us, either personally and directly, or indirectly in having to make wills, take out insurance, etc. And because no one really talks about it, there is very little information on the subject as it pertains to your job. First off, the labor law guarantees paid leave...

Today we start a series of stories on people who have found jobs in Japan and how they found them. In doing so, I hope that the experiences of others will help guide readers in figuring out how to get started in Japan. LM is 25 and hails from New Zealand. Ever since coming to Japan on a family vacation at the age of 14, she has had a burning desire to get back and discover the culture and people more fully. For that reason, she spent...

TS: I recently arrived from Australia with my Japanese wife and started looking for a job. Although I have been in the workforce in Australia for a number of years, and most recently was a manager in a customer service business, I have not been to university and therefore don't have a degree. I've been making approaches to numerous English schools, but can't find...

Some things are seldom talked about in the official press, but I'm a strong believer in information wanting to be free, so here goes. Today we discuss the thorny topic of how to end your employment with a company. One of the really good things about Japanese bureaucracy is that even as a foreigner, once you are legally working here, in the eyes of the law you are considered equal when it comes to benefits...

The official definition of "too much" overtime, is probably the measure for making Karoshi (death through overwork) claims in the Japanese courts, which recently have pegged the basis for a claim at around 100 hours overtime in the month preceding a death of an otherwise healthy person, or 80 hours a month for 2-6 months preceding the person's death. So if you're being asked to work this level of overtime, then...

Everyone knows that the Japanese as a nation are workaholics - it's been like that for decades. Surely you knew at least this one fact about Japan before you came here, so although you do have rights (outlined below), you will surely be upsetting the apple cart if you start complaining about...

It's just human nature, but the Japanese penchant for doing business in-person seems to be catching on even more than normal. Recently I've noticed an increase in the number of foreign managers who are hiring people they know and trust, to help them battle their way through...

I have lost track of how many letters I've received from people either trying to come to Japan or trying to get sent back home again by being employed by a multinational company. The daydreams are often similar. Join a Japanese company in the USA, and one day you may get the chance to be...

Some months ago, I received an interesting request from a lady in a lesser-developed Asian country, wondering if her daughter's fiance, who was living in Tokyo, could support her daughter here in Japan. A natural enough question, given that the prospective groom would be whisking their child away to Japan for a number of years. What made me sit up and take notice, however, was when she explained that he only received...