Job Discussion Forums

[jpendon]

Hello!

I am an English native-speaking, Ontario-certified teacher with experience teaching ESL and an Honours Bachelor's Degree in English. I also happen to have an Asian background. I have heard countless stories of Canadian- or American-born Asian teachers being discriminated against in Japan because of a cultural myth that only Caucasians are fit to teach English. Is it really that bad in Japan? Will the colour of my skin hurt my chances of becoming an English teacher?

Are there any agencies in Japan that are more open-minded towards hiring non-Caucasian English teachers than others?

My partner and I want to move to Japan in the near future. We are not married (yet) and he does not have a university degree (only a college diploma). Is his only option right now a working holiday visa?

Since he probably won't be working in Japan, it rests on me to pay the bills. He can do freelance/contract work, but we know that this is not guaranteed income. The question of taxes also comes to mind: if he is a contractor (ie. self-employed), does he pay Canadian taxes or Japanese taxes?

Another problem is our debt. I need a surplus of about 75,000 yen per month to comfortably pay off our debt while in Japan. Can we survive on my teacher's salary and still manage to pay our bills? Or should my partner look into finding a job while in Japan?

Any suggestions or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

[JL]

I, myself, am heading back to Japan after a four+ year absence (excluding a visit last summer). I'll leave the questions of Canadian tax liability to others, as well as the level of income cushion you can expect.
"I have heard countless stories of Canadian- or American-born Asian teachers being discriminated against in Japan because of a cultural myth that only Caucasians are fit to teach English."
I'm not going to tell you that this does not exist. It's true that Japanese have a love/hate complex toward caucasians. But that said, I've known several successful ESL teachers in Japan, who had non-Japanese Asian heritage. If you present yourself as thoroughly and proudly Canadian, and fully confident in your native English and your ESL teaching ability, you should be competitive in the marketplace.
Now, exactly what kind of "marketplace" will be left when you and I get to Japan... that's another matter. . In a very tight competition, if it came down to you, versus a blond-haired blued glamor boy, I'm not saying he won't get picked over you. But on the other hand, you are a female, and traditionally, female ESL teachers have had an edge because there are less of them out there. In fact, I used to work at one school that had an unwritten hiring policy to opt for the female, if all things were otherwise close.
But I've known Filipina American teachers, Chinese-Americans and Chinese-Canadians both (many, fellow Canucks of yours), as well as Korean-Americans. And of course, countless, countless Japanese-Americans. All of them were successful, and so can you be. Again, just put your best Canadian foot forward.

As for your sig. other: "he does not have a university degree (only a college diploma)", when you say "college diploma", do mean what we in the U.S. refer to a two-year college? Because "college" is foremostly associated with a four year school. And if that's the case, he wouldn't be precluded from teaching himself.

[markle]

I'll second the notion that your Asian heritage doesn't present an obstacle. I too have friends that got jobs easily.
The significant other is going to be a much more intractable problem.
You said you are a state certified teacher, have you looked into international schools? They pay much better, giving you more options vis a vis the bf.

[Glenski]

Bit of advice when talking about yourself to Japanese recruiters or employers:

You are Canadian. period
Don't confuse the issue with hyphenated names.

If you look Asian, so be it. Let your passport and a clear declaration that you were born in Canada settle any disputes about being a native English speaking person. There may still be some idiots here that choose to see you only as Asian with no possibility of English coming out of your mouth, but ignore them.

[jpendon]

Thanks you so much for your responses!

markle: I recently looked into international schools and have applied to about 10 of them! Out of curiosity (and excitement), how long does it usually take for a school to respond (if they are interested in me)?

[natsume]

I see international schools in my future, so I keep an eye on the site below. Search around here for answers to your questions/concerns.

http://www.internationalschoolsreview.com/

[Angelfish]

If you and your other half get married, then once you arrive in Japan he can register at the relevant local office and will then be permitted to work up to 20 hours a week (I'm not sure if there's a cap on how much he can earn, so if he wanted to do private English teaching on the side, he could rake in a fair bit so long as he shows he's doing less than 20 hours).

As far as the taxes go, I think so long as you both have visa to live and work in Japan, all your taxes are paid in Japan. You should be able to check this out with the Canadian tax authority, although it may be best to call them, because if they're anything like the UK one, the website can be confusing at best...

[seklarwia]

I'm pretty sure there was another thread talking about double taxation for Canadians in Japan. Something like, if you more than 4 ties to Canada then you had to pay taxes there too. But don't quote me on that.

[Glenski]

[Angelfish]

I thought there must be a cap of some sorts, otherwise you could claim to be making 20,000 yen plus an hour to cover the amount you get

[AgentMulderUK]

[jpendon]

Thanks again for all the advice! I got a job at an international school! The principal and I still have to iron out the details, but I am very excited

Two questions (for now!): How long does it take for a Canadian citizen to get a work visa (with the employer's help)? I plan to get married soon, so how long will it take for my spouse to get a dependent visa? The position starts this year, so we have a lot of work to do and very little time to do it!

Thanks again!

[Glenski]

[jpendon]

"Soon" is probably about 3 months from now.

I'm assuming that I will have to be in Japan by late July - early August. We will try to get married as quickly as possible (nothing special for now!) and try to apply for visas together.

Since it takes 4-8 weeks to receive a dependent visa, it sounds like my spouse will have to follow me to Japan. It's not what we want, but we'll do what we have to do.

Is there any way to speed up the process? I've heard of Canadian government services that can be expedited by paying an additional fee. I don't know if anything like that exists regarding Japanese visas.

Thanks!

[Apsara]

Your SO can come to Japan on a tourist visa, and apply for a dependent visa while in Japan- it's done all the time. There is no way to speed up the process unless you have a compelling reason, in which case they may be sympathetic.