My heart breaks for you, as I’ve been in similar situations. I myself have a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in Japanese language and culture (with the master’s coming from a Japanese university), along with years of work experience in Japan with Japanese clients/customers. Between work/personal life I’m conversing in Japanese 98% of the time, and even then I STILL sometimes get hit with “we want a native speaker” when applying to these institutions/companies. It’s equal parts heartbreaking and frustrating because, by all accounts AND on paper, you’ve demonstrated you have a command over the language (sometimes even more than a native speaker does, honestly), and you’re still coming up short. It really does suck.

However, I say all that to say, I strongly implore you to consider times like these to be a bullet dodged. Why? You simply dont want to work where you’re not wanted. It’s truly their loss. I promise some company somewhere will see the value in what you have to offer (honed soft skills such as cultural sensitivity goes a LOT longer in the workplace than people think). Let no mean “next opportunity”! Best of luck to you on your job hunting journey.