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Comment by beager | Hacker News Reader

Isn't it prohibitively hard to reside in Japan as an outsider? How can they expect to move up to 8mm houses unless predominantly to existing Japanese? Am I missing something?

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Yes, you're missing that foreigners are not the target of these deals. Also it's not terribly complicated to get a visa to come here: you basically need at least a bachelor degree and to find a job. Given how the job market is starving for employees, it is not really hard. I know a half-dozen people of my country and my age that did it.

Aren't software engineers treated badly in Japan?

Oh the horror stories I have heard from Japanese colleagues when working alongside Japanese companies.

That being said it's not just software developers, it's practically everyone. Oh the horror stories I hear about my sisters-in-law.

All workers are. It’s practically indentured servitude, based on what I’ve read. It is also exceedingly difficult to be an entrepreneur there. Don’t get me wrong though, it’s a beautiful country to visit.

Whenever people say this, its always "based on what they've read".

Real work culture varies from company to company here, and isn't that different than US work culture overall.

Work culture in general is harsher, but a lot of professional jobs include benefits like housing (usually not too far from full rent) and full commute expenses in their compensation. These are perks usually added to your base salary, which is one of the things foreigners ignore when bringing up stories of lower salaries and harsh work culture. You take your pick which is more important to you when thinking about whether or not to live in Japan.

There's a stronger social contract in place than in other places. Work culture is harsher in terms of hours expected in the office than elsewhere, but there is a stronger respect for workers' material conditions as well.

> Given how the job market is starving for employees

Japanese companies in general have an abhorrent work culture.

Let me hand wave cultural relativism for a second - sure, fine, it works great for the Japanese, or whatever, historical and cultural significance, fine. But I think I can make health arguments against it, let alone moral/value ones.

I wish they'd explore Visas for remote workers - partner and I are very interested in doing a spell in Japan, but we have absolutely no interest in participating in the still-majority work culture there. It'd be remote only, or a foreign company.

Not sure if it'd work for what your situation is, but there is up to 1yr visa possible if you have equivalent 30 million yen in savings. I don't know if they'd really care if you kept working remote as long as you had the money.

https://www.mofa.go.jp/ca/fna/page22e_000738.html

I started working for a Japanese tech investment company with this mindset. It's now outdated.

I was shocked to discover that Japanese employment law has changed dramatically vs the perception. Someone died a few years back apparently, so the Japanese government stepped in. They closely monitor logged overtime hours. Bosses whose employees persistently log long hours (I think it is 60+ hour weeks) get a warning, first from HR internally, then the government itself. It's a big deal.

They have a "no overtime Wednesday" every week, and a "Premium Friday" where workers are encourage to go home in the early afternoon.

I went in imagining people sleeping at their desks, etc, but it was the opposite..My Japanese co-workers are surprised at how much I worked! At this point, I wish the U.S. would adopt Japanese labor laws.

Japanese boss dunks worker’s face in hotpot at office party [0].

[0]: https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/2174669/wat...

> Bosses whose employees persistently log long hours (I think it is 60+ hour weeks) get a warning

So what would a normal working week be? A warning at 60+ hours is hardly reassuring.

No, it's a warning at persistent 60+. So up to 60 normally and occasional 60+ would, implicitly, be okay.

60 hour workweek is absurd. I only have a couple decades on this planet. I'm happy to work 60 hours for myself, but for someone else? Nah.

Japan is actually quite a cheap country to live in, especially outside Tokyo. But even, in the city, costs for food and daily living are reasonable.

Well I'm east Asian so I wont stick out like a white person. But no, you wont have any hard time. Whether you will be accepted as Japanese is another story.

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