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Comment by cedws | Hacker News Reader

Yeah. I lived in Tokyo for 6 months as a digital nomad (so still working for an overseas employer.) As much as I love Japan, after hearing what the work culture is like I became pretty sure I didn't want to move there permanently. Not only is it an extremely unmeritocratic environment, the pay for software engs is rubbish. As a foreigner you'll more than likely be treated like dirt and passed up on for promotions.

I think it's a shame because Japan is going through a massive tourism boom at the moment. There's surely a huge number of incredibly smart and talented people who would like to bring their skills in and help lift Japan out of its economic slumber. But Japan is still very closed off and shows no signs of wanting to modernise.

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I’ve heard people argue that Japan stays appealing because it is closed off and puts effort into maintaining their culture instead of modernizing into a generic western melting pot.

Moving to a different culture and adapting to it is a great way of shaking up your brain.

Moving between very different cultures is a challenge, but the rewards are accordingly nicer, but it really sucks when the new culture doesn’t welcome and integrate you into it.

It is difficult for a culture to find a good balance between openness and conservation.

Some mixing is unavoidable. For instance, here in Ireland, an increasing number of Irish natives are aware of a Brazilian delicacy called "pão de queijo", thanks to the massive number of Brazilian residents. The way student visas work here is that they allow part-time work, and lots of Brazilians go for food services, bringing some of our recipes with them.

Between Hungary and Turkey, something similar happened with the pogacza. I brough some cheese pogacza to the office and a Turkish colleague immediately recognized what it was. We couldn't really figure out which culture it comes from, but we agree it's delicious and dangerously addictive.

I think it's possible to open up without swinging the doors wide open like we have in the UK. There's also the argument that on Japan's current course, there won't be much culture left in a century due to population decline. Japan needs to very quickly correct course without completely submitting to cultural replacement.

It's worth living in Japan if you can control your work schedule, by working for a remote Western employer that may not know nor care that you're outside the West, or by having your own startup and product. Otherwise I'd agree.

Yes, those are the only circumstances I'd recommend for staying in Japan, but they're only short term (1 year or less.) Working holiday is also nice if you're young. I met a few people working in hostels doing it, obviously doesn't pay much but gives you a place to sleep and a means to stay in the country for a while.

I'm always puzzled by these comments because my personal experience (and those of my foreigner dev friends) is kinda the opposite.

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