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The article doesn't mention, but Japan also took steps to make immigration easier for skilled workers with the Highly-Skilled Foreign Professional visa [1] base

The article doesn't mention, but Japan also took steps to make immigration easier for skilled workers with the Highly-Skilled Foreign Professional visa [1] based on this point system [2]. Can even qualify for permanent residency in as little as one year if you score 80+ points. [1] http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/ http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/ [2] http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/pdf/171110_leaflet.pdf http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_3/en/pdf/171110_leaflet...

Bombthecat 8y ago
Hmm interesting.but it looks like they are only interested in young doctors and researchers. Not in professional workers, at least when you use the Excel, or is there an other way to calculate the points?
- weiming 8y ago
  You can switch between sheets/tabs in the Excel doc. There are three eligible categories: researchers, specialized/technical (like software), and business managers.
  - Bombthecat 8y ago
    Oh thanks, opened it on mobile. Will check out again.
jpatokal 8y ago
The problem is that the points requirements are too high for the type of young entrepreneurial people Japan wants to attract, and Japan itself is not attractive for the high rollers of the professional or scientific world that would qualify. In the 5+ years since it was rolled out, the number of successful applicants is less than 5000, most of whom were apparently Chinese nationals already in Japan. https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00304/ https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00304/
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- iandanforth 8y ago
  Am I reading this wrong? It looks like you get 40 points for having a salary of 10M yen. That's not very high for tech jobs. That plus having a few years of experience, a bachelors, and being under 40 gets you past the 70 point bar at least.
  - lev99 8y ago
    A tech job making 10M yen in Japan is a very different experience than a tech job in the US making 100k+ a year.
    - JanisL 8y ago
      I don't know too much about employment in Japan, would love it if you could elaborate on this.
      - adventured 8y ago
        The average programmer salary in Japan is half that of the US, approximately. Their economy is dramatically smaller per capita than the US (the US GDP per capita is 58% higher), and then on top of that engineers are not paid nearly so well as in the US within that economic potential. It's a lot more rare to make $100,000+ per year as a programmer in Japan. Normal circumstances generally will not get you there.
    - cdavid 8y ago
      You need to make 10M JPY in your job before coming to Japan.
      - timr 8y ago
        According to the forms, it's the salary from the "principal accepting organization" that matters (i.e. the Japanese salary).
jk2323 8y ago
"but Japan also took steps to make immigration easier for skilled workers with the Highly-Skilled " Why go to Japan? Every idiot and his brother can now come to Germany thanks to Merkel, the German chancelor. You don't have to be skilled, just come. Free boarding, free food, free healthcare and cash. Money for nothing and the chicks for free.... https://www.timesofisrael.com/outrage-and-questions-about-police-in-germany-after-murder-rape-of-jewish-girl/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/outrage-and-questions-about-po...
- dang 8y ago
  We've banned this account for repeatedly violating the site guidelines and ignoring our requests to stop. If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html
joshe 8y ago
Pulling out the hacker part: 40 points for > 10 million yen salary ($91,000) 10 for a bachelors 20 for a masters 30 for a phd 20 for 10 years experience 15 for 7 years experience 10 for 5 years experience 5 for 3 years experience age 15 for <29 10 for 30-34 5 for 35-39 15 for a patent 15 for 3 academic papers 15 for 3 academic grant And bonuses for language proficiency, working for small-medium companies that spend on R and D (startups?) and holding a foreign qualification. With the right salary ($91K/year): 24 year old, with bachelors, and 3 years work experience? you are in. 40 year old, with bachelors, and 10 years work experience? you are in. Remarkably open. Far more so than the US.
- sytelus 8y ago
  Wow! That throws much of the western world out of the water. I'm wondering if there is any requirement for continued residency. For example, in US if you don't live 6 months out of a year in US then you risk your green card getting cancelled.
  - weiming 8y ago
    Can be away for up to a year at a time, or up to five years if you apply for a re-entry permit. Unlike the US, there is no requirement to maintain continuous residency. However, just like US, having permanent residency subjects you to worldwide taxation which may not be ideal for everyone.
    - xevb3k 8y ago
      And it appears that permanent residency for tax purposes and the VISA, are unrelated. So if you’re in Japan for more than 5 years you maybe taxed on your world wide income? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/10/30/how-tos/long-term-foreign-japan-residents-must-declare-overseas-assets-taxed/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/10/30/how-tos/lo... If anyone has more information, I’d be interesting it reading it as it’s pretty unclear to me.
      - 8y ago
baybal2 8y ago
Around 2 years ago, I was reached by a Rakuten recruiter. I think, I should've given more consideration to the proposal than a straight refusal.
- cdavid 8y ago
  Rakuten is not the best you can aim for in Japan, at least if you are willing to live in Tokyo. It is a decent first experience, especially if you are young, but it is still very stiff compared to international companies, and salaries are low. I would advise looking at startups (disclaimer: I work and hire at one) or international companies like Google, Indeed, Nvidia, Intel, Pivotal, etc. Indeed at least is actively hiring for foreign talent in Tokyo.
  - weiming 8y ago
    I know this is going to be anecdotal, but curious about your experiences with local tech talent. Do you come across enough people familiar with data structures/algorithms, or, instead, more people who have taken proficiency exams like IT Passport?
    - cdavid 8y ago
      I guess by local talent you mean Japanese ? It is hard to attract them as a small company, even today. I have some anecdotal feedback on why this would be the case, but I don't know how prevalent it is. Otherwise, there are plenty of foreign engineers who are already in Japan, and that you can attract through various perks. I would say the issues are not unlike what I have seen in Europe: resume are generally not discriminant, except at the extremes, and you need to spend a lot of time per candidate. I actually do not care so much about data structure/ algos: of course I expect people to know the basics such as walking a tree, or why you want to use a hashmap instead of a list, but we are generally looking for the typical T-shape, and ensure people, especially more senior ones, are deep in one area. Maybe the most challenging issue is that you see more diversity in terms of culture than Europe (and even the US dare I say), so you need to make sure you have a decent process in place to judge people as objectively as possible.

Bombthecat 8y ago

Hmm interesting.but it looks like they are only interested in young doctors and researchers. Not in professional workers, at least when you use the Excel, or is there an other way to calculate the points?

weiming 8y ago
You can switch between sheets/tabs in the Excel doc. There are three eligible categories: researchers, specialized/technical (like software), and business managers.
- Bombthecat 8y ago
  Oh thanks, opened it on mobile. Will check out again.

jpatokal 8y ago

The problem is that the points requirements are too high for the type of young entrepreneurial people Japan wants to attract, and Japan itself is not attractive for the high rollers of the professional or scientific world that would qualify. In the 5+ years since it was rolled out, the number of successful applicants is less than 5000, most of whom were apparently Chinese nationals already in Japan. https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00304/ https://www.nippon.com/en/currents/d00304/

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
iandanforth 8y ago
Am I reading this wrong? It looks like you get 40 points for having a salary of 10M yen. That's not very high for tech jobs. That plus having a few years of experience, a bachelors, and being under 40 gets you past the 70 point bar at least.
- lev99 8y ago
  A tech job making 10M yen in Japan is a very different experience than a tech job in the US making 100k+ a year.
  - JanisL 8y ago
    I don't know too much about employment in Japan, would love it if you could elaborate on this.
    - adventured 8y ago
      The average programmer salary in Japan is half that of the US, approximately. Their economy is dramatically smaller per capita than the US (the US GDP per capita is 58% higher), and then on top of that engineers are not paid nearly so well as in the US within that economic potential. It's a lot more rare to make $100,000+ per year as a programmer in Japan. Normal circumstances generally will not get you there.
  - cdavid 8y ago
    You need to make 10M JPY in your job before coming to Japan.
    - timr 8y ago
      According to the forms, it's the salary from the "principal accepting organization" that matters (i.e. the Japanese salary).

jk2323 8y ago

"but Japan also took steps to make immigration easier for skilled workers with the Highly-Skilled " Why go to Japan? Every idiot and his brother can now come to Germany thanks to Merkel, the German chancelor. You don't have to be skilled, just come. Free boarding, free food, free healthcare and cash. Money for nothing and the chicks for free.... https://www.timesofisrael.com/outrage-and-questions-about-police-in-germany-after-murder-rape-of-jewish-girl/ https://www.timesofisrael.com/outrage-and-questions-about-po...

dang 8y ago
We've banned this account for repeatedly violating the site guidelines and ignoring our requests to stop. If you don't want to be banned, you're welcome to email hn@ycombinator.com and give us reason to believe that you'll follow the rules in the future. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

joshe 8y ago

Pulling out the hacker part: 40 points for > 10 million yen salary ($91,000) 10 for a bachelors 20 for a masters 30 for a phd 20 for 10 years experience 15 for 7 years experience 10 for 5 years experience 5 for 3 years experience age 15 for <29 10 for 30-34 5 for 35-39 15 for a patent 15 for 3 academic papers 15 for 3 academic grant And bonuses for language proficiency, working for small-medium companies that spend on R and D (startups?) and holding a foreign qualification. With the right salary ($91K/year): 24 year old, with bachelors, and 3 years work experience? you are in. 40 year old, with bachelors, and 10 years work experience? you are in. Remarkably open. Far more so than the US.

sytelus 8y ago
Wow! That throws much of the western world out of the water. I'm wondering if there is any requirement for continued residency. For example, in US if you don't live 6 months out of a year in US then you risk your green card getting cancelled.
- weiming 8y ago
  Can be away for up to a year at a time, or up to five years if you apply for a re-entry permit. Unlike the US, there is no requirement to maintain continuous residency. However, just like US, having permanent residency subjects you to worldwide taxation which may not be ideal for everyone.
  - xevb3k 8y ago
    And it appears that permanent residency for tax purposes and the VISA, are unrelated. So if you’re in Japan for more than 5 years you maybe taxed on your world wide income? https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/10/30/how-tos/long-term-foreign-japan-residents-must-declare-overseas-assets-taxed/ https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/10/30/how-tos/lo... If anyone has more information, I’d be interesting it reading it as it’s pretty unclear to me.
    - 8y ago

baybal2 8y ago

Around 2 years ago, I was reached by a Rakuten recruiter. I think, I should've given more consideration to the proposal than a straight refusal.

cdavid 8y ago
Rakuten is not the best you can aim for in Japan, at least if you are willing to live in Tokyo. It is a decent first experience, especially if you are young, but it is still very stiff compared to international companies, and salaries are low. I would advise looking at startups (disclaimer: I work and hire at one) or international companies like Google, Indeed, Nvidia, Intel, Pivotal, etc. Indeed at least is actively hiring for foreign talent in Tokyo.
- weiming 8y ago
  I know this is going to be anecdotal, but curious about your experiences with local tech talent. Do you come across enough people familiar with data structures/algorithms, or, instead, more people who have taken proficiency exams like IT Passport?
  - cdavid 8y ago
    I guess by local talent you mean Japanese ? It is hard to attract them as a small company, even today. I have some anecdotal feedback on why this would be the case, but I don't know how prevalent it is. Otherwise, there are plenty of foreign engineers who are already in Japan, and that you can attract through various perks. I would say the issues are not unlike what I have seen in Europe: resume are generally not discriminant, except at the extremes, and you need to spend a lot of time per candidate. I actually do not care so much about data structure/ algos: of course I expect people to know the basics such as walking a tree, or why you want to use a hashmap instead of a list, but we are generally looking for the typical T-shape, and ensure people, especially more senior ones, are deep in one area. Maybe the most challenging issue is that you see more diversity in terms of culture than Europe (and even the US dare I say), so you need to make sure you have a decent process in place to judge people as objectively as possible.