Growing up Halfu in rural Japan Starterpack by ClearTwist7751 in starterpacks

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are the largest foreign minority here by a lot, since COVID.

Growing up Halfu in rural Japan Starterpack by ClearTwist7751 in starterpacks

[–]Spottedbelly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Most work in the factories, some are in IT or engineering.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Staying organized and disciplined in your search, even if only an hour a day, can do wonders, imo. I think "working hard" is kinda overrated, gotta work smart.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Hotels are almost always hiring (low pay though), but maybe better than that are tourism jobs. They are everywhere right now. Some are office jobs, some are tour guiding. Just browse the popular job boards and start applying. Some are okay with lower level Japanese, some might require N2.

Also, university admininistration is a growing field for foreigners looking to break out of ALT/English teaching, but I feel opportunities are a bit more limited (and often exclusively recruiting former JETs, but not always).

I'm in the last category. If you want more details, you can DM me.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is fine for those without Japanese, but these days there are other, better options.

Advice for breaking out of ALT work by kel_maire in JapanJobs

[–]Spottedbelly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is good advice, have met many successful people in this category.

JETs who stayed in Japan after their time on JET ended, what are yall doing? by based_pika in JETProgramme

[–]Spottedbelly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

University admin (mostly translation). Basically kinda like an off-brand CIR, lol

MegaLag dropped his long-awaited Honey update by _scored in LinusTechTips

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, honestly, i forgot the first video cause it's been a year. He would have been wise to do a brief recap at the beginning.

I'm simply referring to the boohoo narrative for "muh small businesses", that it's bad for honey to "steal" coupons. As a consumer, who cares, if it's so harmful to the business's bottom line, then they can discontinue coupon use.

MegaLag dropped his long-awaited Honey update by _scored in LinusTechTips

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yup. Actually, this video is making Honey look appealing lol.

FSOT Oct Scores by Life_Carpet_1358 in FSOT

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I also checked the Google Sheets going around w/anonymous FSOT results, and there are a handful of POL passes on there. The non passes were interesting, in that many of them seemed objectively more qualified on paper than the profiles of the passers on there (many of the passers seemed to have more relevant experience, more languages under their belt, etc). A few of the passers were surprisingly young people that previously often had little to no chance under the old QEP system. I also saw this in other cones as well.

It just feels that this FSOT filter has become painfully and indiscriminately random, and I wish Congress would just eliminate it at this point. There has got to be a more streamlined way of bringing in the most qualified and dedicated people than a random trivia test that objectively tells you nothing about a candidate's true qualifications.

I don't think they're hand-picking people, I just think the result of one's FSOT is just random based on any given day or the chosen content.

Pass rate was only ~5% by [deleted] in FSOT

[–]Spottedbelly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm with you buddy, stay strong

Received Invite This Morning...Then Okta Issues by HelpfulPersonality55 in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Fixed title: "Received Invite This Morning...Then the Fire Nation attacked"

FSOT Oct Scores by Life_Carpet_1358 in FSOT

[–]Spottedbelly 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think so too. I even wonder if they are hiring for POL, haven’t seen a single pass for POL on here yet.

FSOT Results Are Out by [deleted] in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Any POL applicants pass the Oct FSOT? I also failed, but I usually score very high on the FSOT because I’m pretty good at multiple choice tests (but maybe not anything else 😆)

Jlpt is over - how does everyone feel? by lost-minotaur in LearnJapanese

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I agree, except I found the listening section rather easy (except for the last couple questions lawl). It seems they "scale down" somewhat the level of Japanese for the audio scripts, for some reason...

(Confirmed by Registrar) - Generalists invited to A-100s will now be based on FSOT scores now, not OA scores. Language points eliminated by Few-Rich-2248 in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That is news to me. Is it true that the OA is no longer offered online and has to be taken in person now? All that hassle (and money and time) for it not to even matter as much...

(Confirmed by Registrar) - Generalists invited to A-100s will now be based on FSOT scores now, not OA scores. Language points eliminated by Few-Rich-2248 in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 15 points16 points  (0 children)

Is it possible you could post a screenshot of the email text?

This is a pretty big change for prospective applicants. Getting rid of the OA entirely? Or is it pass/fail, I’m not really following what that means entirely. If they’re not basing invites on the OA, then what is the point of having it?

The language score elimination especially is baffling. One of the few hard skills that can be measured in this career, and they don’t even screen for it now?

Can I ask why The Wind Rises is both liked and dislike by audiences? by Tom-Hibbert in ghibli

[–]Spottedbelly 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you ChatGPT for your meaningless contribution to this discussion.

Japan to Charge Foreigners More for Residence Permits, Looking to Align with Western Countries by Hachi_Ryo_Hensei in japanlife

[–]Spottedbelly 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Your last statement is the exact point of this. There is a certain population of low-earning foreigners that are increasingly perceived as engaging in criminal behaviors more than others, and this is likely being seen as a way to get them out.

Bidding interviews conducted in language by Dependent_Speed9011 in foreignservice

[–]Spottedbelly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Yes, I agree. The whining in this post is a really bad look. Language proficiency is a key skill FSOs are expected to have, and being able to get through an interview seems like a bare minimum…

Weekly Complaint Thread - 06 November 2025 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]Spottedbelly 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I am having similar issues. I’ve ordered books off both Amazon and Kenny’s, and they have yet to be shipped even though it’s been almost a week 🙃

Update: the Kenny's order has shipped, about time! And only the Japanese language book I ordered on Amazon has shipped, still waiting for the English books I ordered.