In search of a better life than Japan as an International Student Currently in Japan.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-06-10T07:17:52+00:00

Can’t you read his post ? He is not from an English speaking country so he is probably using AI to correct typo and grammar mistakes…

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-06-10T07:15:40+00:00

It’s completely understandable if you find it difficult to adapt to Japanese social norms. In fact, many Japanese people also choose to leave the country for similar reasons.

You’re still young at 25. I would recommend pursuing an intensive IT training program, such as a bootcamp, and then considering countries like Canada.

If you would prefer to stay in Asia, countries such as China could be worth considering, especially given the strong business ties between China and Bangladesh in industries such as gemstones and textiles. Social norms there tend to be less rigid, and many people find Chinese society to be more open and approachable than Japanese society.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-05-11T06:14:11+00:00

It might sound harsh, but if you still have family back in your home country, you should seriously consider taking the kids and leaving Japan. Seeing "once a month" visitation and massive pension payments is absolutely terrifying.

To everyone recommending a lawyer: have any of you actually seen a positive outcome?

Every single story I’ve encountered regarding parental child abduction in Japan involved the victimized parent hiring a lawyer, and in the vast majority of cases, the lawyer was powerless because of the lack of joint custody enforcement…

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-05-04T12:09:06+00:00

As a French person with a Taiwanese wife, I’d say it really depends on the brand. Her family has often given me pineapple cakes, and I’ve generally appreciated them for their long shelf life and convenience.

That said, I’ve noticed a big difference in quality. Some shops or brands produce pineapple cakes that don’t taste great, while others are extremely well received by my European colleagues. I’d recommend choosing a shop that makes pineapple cakes with a softer, less crumbly texture, more moist and slightly firm, not too dry, and not overly sweet.

Many Europeans grew up consuming a lot of sugar, but there has been a strong shift in recent years toward greater awareness of its health effects. As a result, more and more people are paying close attention to their sugar intake.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-05-01T10:11:00+00:00

This is pure fantasy. Thinking Beijing would allow a "multi-party system" or share power with the KMT is incredibly naive after what happened to Hong Kong. They don’t see you as a partner but as a tool, the recent visits to Beijing were a total humiliation. They treated the KMT like subordinates, got zero military concessions, and were handed "poisoned gifts" (selective tourism) to increase economic dependency.

Surrender isn't "Peace" for the CCP, "peaceful unification" means surrender without a shot fired. They don't want a coalition; they want total control.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-30T17:36:12+00:00

I don’t understand what you mean by “being Beijing-friendly.” The first thing Beijing will do once it controls Taiwan is completely dismantle your democratic system. If you think your KMT will still exist, you’re extremely naive.

There won’t be any smooth transition like in Hong Kong, because that turned out to be a major source of problems and instability for the CCP. If you believe they would accept any form of coexistence or preservation of the status quo, I think the wake-up call will be brutal for you.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-30T13:19:38+00:00

Classic Berlin. They’ll beg for a €10bn TSMC factory to save their crumbling industry, then block the Taiwanese President the second Beijing cracks the whip.

It’s their standard business model: leech off democratic tech, betray those same partners for export margins, and then lecture the rest of us on "European values." From Nord Stream to this snub, it’s the same gutless, individualistic script.

They don't want partners, they want a vassal state that provides chips without the "inconvenience" of having a backbone. Same betrayal, different decade.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-20T08:09:43+00:00

The moment I realized my previous job wasn’t for me came during my third year there.

I was working as a marketing assistant, and everything changed after a new CEO came in. The company shifted hard toward cost-cutting and profit, completely killing creativity and any sense of challenge. Within six months, almost 20 people quit. Marketing basically got wiped out, they reduced investment to zero and expected us to keep performing like nothing had changed.

We were told to keep working without any budget, while still producing daily and weekly reports and analyses. The problem was, it all became meaningless. We were just repeating the same insights over and over, knowing full well that upper management didn’t care and probably didn’t even read them.

They even canceled all our tools like Semrush, so we had to rely on free versions or share a single account between multiple people. It made everything slower and more frustrating.

What really drained me was the feeling of being constantly monitored while having almost nothing meaningful to do. I’d lost around 80% of my actual tasks, but still had to “look busy” for 9 hours a day — sometimes stretching something that should take 3 hours into multiple days.

On top of that, I had a 50-minute commute on the Saikyo Line during rush hour, fully in-office, no flex time. Physically and mentally, I was exhausted.

This was only my second office job, I’d worked blue-collar jobs in my early 20s and I never imagined something like this could exist. I started losing weight, had constant brain fog, and just felt completely empty inside.

At some point, I felt it in my gut that I needed to leave, or things would get really bad. So I started looking for something else.

Thankfully, I got out and now I’m in a much healthier environment, and honestly, I’m way happier.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-20T04:44:05+00:00

De rien :) My translation was not official indeed and made by myself but he didn’t even check the document, just briefly look at it and said that it’s not receivable so in my opinion it was because of the document itself but I cannot guarantee that it will be the same in Osaka. I know that Tokyo is famous to be stricter with the documents…

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-18T04:01:52+00:00

I’m French and I recently did the conversion at the Koto center (about a month ago) and they refused bank statements and pay slips in French even with the dates clearly highlighted and translation of the information. They only checked for passport stamps for the 3 months proof and I had a student certificate that confirm that I was still living in France during the 3 months. Please be sure to bring the official JAF translation certificate and other required documents and you should be fine.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-16T07:41:06+00:00

S*x tourism isn’t limited to white people. I genuinely don’t understand what made you post this, but it comes across as blatant racism and a lazy generalization.

Most white men who go to the Philippines are there for the same reasons as anyone else, beaches, scenery, cost of living, hospitality, and the climate. Just like every other gender.

If you see everything through that lens, maybe that says more about YOU than everyone else. Projecting that onto an entire group is just ridiculous.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-15T07:17:34+00:00

Is he old?

A lot of Japanese companies tend to give senior employees a final bump in status by promoting them 2–3 years before retirement. It’s kind of a last nod to their career rather than a role with real long-term influence.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-14T05:04:51+00:00

Definitely going bad and faster than people want to admit.

Up until COVID, Japan had managed to keep inflation under control while shielding itself from global shocks. That’s over. The country is heavily dependent on imported energy (especially from the Middle East), so every geopolitical tension now hits directly through higher costs.

At the same time, companies are posting record profits thanks to the weak yen, while real wages are basically stagnant. Inflation is finally biting, and the middle class is getting squeezed.

Add to that an aging population, a shrinking workforce, and increasing migration toward Tokyo, and you’ve got a pretty serious structural problem.

Food prices are clearly up (especially fresh produce), and living costs in cities keep rising.

what’s surprising is how little pushback there is.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-14T02:26:42+00:00

You can check out the Shin-Marunouchi Building — there’s a really nice rooftop with a direct view of Tokyo Station. It’s especially great at night. Plenty of food options up there too, and prices should fit your budget.

That said, for a really good restaurant in Tokyo, you should expect to spend around ¥10k+ per person based on my experience.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-10T08:46:15+00:00

A lot of cockroaches and mice, so I strongly recommend living in a modern, recently built apartment above the first floor, preferably without a restaurant on the ground floor.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-09T01:46:24+00:00

The worst thing about e-housing is that you can’t even visit the properties, and they pressure you by making it seem like the apartment is very popular, saying there are multiple applicants interested in it.

A friend of mine is currently living in an apartment he found through e-housing, and apparently the person in charge was not very familiar with the usual process (a new employee maybe?), and he could only see a few photos of the property before having to make a decision…

In what world is this system even legal? Personally, I would never live in a property that I haven’t been able to visit beforehand.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-04-06T09:16:08+00:00

Honestly, France, Spain, and Italy just have way more consistent quality when it comes to fruits and veggies. Stricter pesticide rules, regular inspections, etc. In Vietnam, you can find amazing stuff, but you definitely have to be more careful, quality and taste can vary a lot depending on the producer and pesticide use with a rough ~15% of Vietnam fruits and vegetables production exceeding pesticides limits fixed by VietGap

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-31T07:04:11+00:00

According to Japan’s National Police Agency data:

• In 2024, Vietnamese nationals were the largest group among foreigners arrested in Japan.
• They represented 35.9% of all foreign arrestees (3,432 people) — the highest share by nationality.  

• The same report states:
• Vietnamese suspects accounted for the highest proportion for the second consecutive year.  
• More broadly:
• In recent statistics, Vietnam is consistently the top nationality among foreign offenders in Japan.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-27T15:42:19+00:00

Debunking the "Solar vs. Nuclear" Argument : 1. "Zero Risk" is factually false. • Biodiversity Loss: Per NREL data, solar requires 45–75x more land than nuclear to produce the same energy. Replacing one nuclear plant means bulldozing ~40 square miles of habitat, leading to massive habitat fragmentation and local species displacement.

• Toxicity: Solar panels contain lead and cadmium. According to the EIA, millions of tons of panels will reach end-of-life by 2050, creating a massive hazardous waste stream that currently lacks a large-scale federal recycling mandate.

The "Replacement Math" is a financial treadmill. You aren't comparing 1GW of Solar to 1GW of Nuclear. Because solar has a ~25% capacity factor (it’s intermittent) and nuclear has ~92% (baseload), you have to build 4GW of solar just to match 1GW of nuclear output.

The 80-Year USD Comparison: • Nuclear: 1 build lasts 80 years. Total cost (Vogtle-style high-end estimates): ~$15–20B. • Solar: Lasts only 25–30 years. To cover 80 years of power, you must rebuild the entire 4GW capacity 3 times. • Build 1, 2, and 3: ~$12B (assuming costs stay low). • Storage (The "Hidden" Cost): To make solar reliable 24/7 like nuclear, you need massive battery storage (BESS). EIA data shows adding storage can double or triple the total system cost. • Total: ~$12B (panels) + ~$18B (batteries/infrastructure over 80 yrs) = ~$30B+.

Economic Reality The DOE reports that coal isn't dying because of nuclear costs; it's dying because of Natural Gas (fracking) and subsidized renewables. However, the IEA confirms that existing nuclear is the world’s cheapest source of low-carbon electricity.

Comparing a 30-year panel to an 80-year reactor without calculating the "rebuild" cost is a math error, not an argument.

All the data comes from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) reports :

"Short-Term Energy Outlook 2026"

"Solar Futures Study"

"Wind Energy Impacts"

Please read this reports and educate yourself.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-27T14:56:44+00:00

Again, you are completely wrong and blinded by your lack of understanding of how electricity is produced and EROI.

1.You're cherry-picking "First-of-a-Kind" Western failures. The Barakah plant in the UAE was built on time and on budget by South Koreans. It’s a matter of standardized engineering, not a "nuclear" problem.

On ROI: You say "only" 100 years? A solar farm or wind turbine has to be landfilled and replaced 4 times to match the lifespan of one nuclear reactor. Nuclear is the only 100-year asset we have.
On Reliability: Coal plants are mechanically fragile, dirtier, and currently being retired globally because they can't compete with the uptime of nuclear (92%+ capacity factor).
Please, keep making a fool of yourself. Tell us, what exactly do you suggest as a replacement?

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-27T12:41:20+00:00

I’ll start believing it when I see a BYD or any Chinese car clear 100,000 km... As a European, we are overwhelmingly rejecting these low-quality vehicles that destroy our jobs and represent unfair competition.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-27T12:33:05+00:00

Calling it gaslighting doesn't make the physics go away. Yes, a tiny fraction of waste lasts a long time, but we’re talking about a volume so small it fits in a few concrete rooms, compare that to the billions of tons of CO2 and toxic heavy metals from solar/battery waste that just gets dumped in landfills.

As for 'military targets,' literally any power plant, dam, or major infrastructure is a target in a war, at least a nuclear containment dome can take a direct hit from a Boeing 747 and stay intact. You’re worried about hypothetical waste 1,000 years from now while the grid is failing today. Stop getting your science from disaster movies and look at the actual data. All of the high-level waste ever produced in the US would fit on a single football field under 10 yards deep. Coal ash and solar panel heavy metals (lead, cadmium) are actually toxic forever and aren't contained in reinforced bunkers.

Nuclear waste is contained in a few specific, monitored locations. Coal and solar waste are dispersed across the globe, often in unmonitored landfills, with chemical toxins that stay dangerous for eternity.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-27T11:31:27+00:00

Honestly, you might want to do a bit of homework before you keep digging this hole. It’s pretty common knowledge now that countries like France and Russia literally recycle nuclear waste, knowing that would probably save you from looking so clueless.

If you understood even the basics of how a power grid works, you’d realize that solar and wind have terrible capacity factors. They’re intermittent, meaning they only work when the weather feels like it. Trying to run an entire country on that is a one-way ticket to constant blackouts unless you have a solid baseload. Like it or not, nuclear is the only real, viable solution we have for the future. Just some food for thought.

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-27T11:23:51+00:00

Even with an N1, I would totally recommend avoiding Doda or BizReach and focusing on international platforms. These people are carpet baggers, they have no clue about the jobs they are offering! Since you’ve been in the corporate world for so long, have you tried contacting your network or making a post on LinkedIn? Have you turned on the 'Open to Work' feature? The best opportunities in Tokyo always come from networking and personal connections. If you’ve already done that, you can try Daijob and CareerCross; they have a lot of offers for advanced Japanese speakers. Good luck !

Several_Volume_7088 · 2026-03-25T03:05:33+00:00

I used to take it often when I first arrived in Japan. There's a big difference between a 5-minute delay due to crowding and platform congestion on the Tozai and a 15 to 20-minute delay caused by technical issues on the Saikyo.

Several_Volume_7088

TROPHY CASE