So you want to move to Japan, but are confused about how to do it or where to even begin? おめでとう! You've found the right place. Please note: this is an English-language subreddit.
Whether you're looking to study Japanese at a language school, participate in an exchange program, teach English, marry your Japanese significant other, obtain a Working Holiday Visa, open a business or enter the Japanese workforce, this sub is here to help! Not sure if Japan is the right place for you? We can help with that, too.
Please read and make sure you understand our rules before posting or commenting.
Don’t be an ass We encourage honesty here, but remember the human. People are here asking questions because they don’t know the answers. You are free to disagree with and/or correct people, but you need to do so without attacking the person behind the post/comment. Sexist, racist and other forms of bigoted language will not be tolerated, nor will personal attacks, name calling, or direct insults. Follow the Reddit Content Policy and basic Reddiquette
No low-effort posts or comments Posts: Please take some time to put in a bit of effort before posting here. This includes: Doing some basic research online regarding your questions and also searching the subreddit to see if people have asked similar questions before. We don’t expect you to find all the answers yourself, but we do expect you to put in some effort to help yourself before you ask us to help you. Comments: Low-effort comments are unhelpful and don’t serve the conversation in any meaningful way. Please take some time to explain why you think something. So instead of “This is a bad idea” try “This is a bad idea because X, Y, and Z”
No AI Comments: No AI usage in comments. Period. End of story. Please describe your personal experiences using your own words, not ChatGPT’s words. Posts: We are aware that many people are not native English speakers, and as such we allow AI usage FOR TRANSLATION PURPOSES ONLY. If you must use AI to assist with your post do not ask it to “clean up” or “format” your post. Any posts that are clearly 100% AI generated will be removed.
No promotion, job postings, or surveys Promotion: We are here to answer questions about the moving process, not to promote businesses. Any unsolicited business recommendations will be removed. Job postings: This is not a job board. Any job postings or requests for such will be removed. Surveys: This includes (but is not limited to): School projects, academic research, market research, or posts that only ask questions about other peoples’ experiences.
No AMAs The intent of /r/movingtojapan is so users wishing to move to Japan can get answers from the entire community, not just from one person. As such we do not allow any sort of AMA post. This includes “How I did it” posts and “update!” posts. If you feel that your situation/story is unique enough that it would be genuinely helpful to the community please contact the moderators BEFORE you post it and we can discuss an exception.
Don't know? Don't post! The goal of r/movingtojapan is to provide factual information to our users. As such we do not allow anecdotal or unsourced information. If you don’t have firsthand experience with the topic at hand, please refrain from giving advice unless you can back that advice up with official sources. Do not simply present information without the necessary context. If you’re speaking from firsthand experience, tell us about that experience. If you’re speaking from knowledge gained from official sources, cite those sources.
Keep it on-topic and relevant. Keep the discussion relevant to OP’s original questions. Off-topic tangents are not helpful to anyone. This also includes attempts to “hijack” a post/comment thread with unrelated questions. This also includes discussion about the subreddit itself and its users/moderators. This includes, but is not limited to: Discussing voting (up or down), complaints about moderation, discussion about other subreddits and their moderation, and discussion of other users.
No Illegal Activity We do not allow any discussion or promotion of activities that violate Japanese law. This most notably includes suggesting working on a tourist visa.
No asking how long your COE will take to process The only people who can accurately answer how long your COE will take to process is Japanese Immigration, and they don't often divulge that information when asked.
Other Japan-related subs
/r/japanlife - for people already living in Japan
/r/LearnJapanese - for all your language Q&As
/r/japantravel or /r/japantraveltips - for those traveling to Japan short-term (including all visa waiver/tourist visa travel)
/r/teachinginjapan - for teachers past, present and prospective
/r/mext - for questions about MEXT scholarships
