Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

Are there any using this forum?

Do you work for a Japanese shipping company? Or is that difficult?

Or do you live in Japan on a spouse visa when you're not working at sea with a non-Japanese company?


I'm currently training to be an Engineer Officer and would like to hear from seafarers who live in Japan. I've lived in Japan before, with a working holiday visa, and I'll try to live there again as soon as possible.

Thanks

Re: Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

The easiest way to move to Japan in that field without a spousal visa or intra-company transfer would probably be just to get 5 or 6 years under your belt overseas and then start looking for jobs there which could sponsor you under the Engineer visa class.

You would probably also need at least conversational level Japanese as well though and it may be tough to find employers willing to sponsor you considering the current economic problems in Japan.

Re: Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

Yeah I'm well aware that foreign engineers would struggle to find work on land without (and even with) a good level of Japanese language ability.

I am going to be a seafarer though, I'm going to work at sea, not on land. Sure I will eventually retire from working at sea and find a land based job. However that's probably far in the future.

What I'm interested in, is what it's like to be a foreign seafarer and live in Japan on a spouse visa. As an Engineer Officer I'll be very employable when it comes to working at sea, for British and non-British companies (whether Japanese companies comes into that, I don't know yet).

Don't know how I'm going to find out about that, I thought posting here was a long shot but maybe I am just wasting my time.


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What usually happens with being a seafarer is, companies generally pay for your flights to the country where you'll meet your ship. You work at sea for a long period then get a long period of holiday. That's how seafarers get to live in all kinds of places, not necessarily in the country they work closest to.

Re: Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

Ahhh, I see what you mean now. Well Japan is a seafaring island nation like Britain is, with a lot of ports dotted around the country both for military and commercial use.

I would have thought that you would be able to do this with a Japanese spousal permit and I think I've read in the past that quite a few Russians and Koreans work on commercial vessels and can sometimes be based in Japan for extended periods but the Russians especially can be unpopular with the locals in some of the smaller coastal towns, not least because they are associated with loud drunken behaviour and cluttering up the local Ryokan and that's if they are not being mistaken for off-duty US military.

Not sure where you would find more good info on this though to be honest, it's kind of a niche area and there aren't many Japan-based members posting on here. Maybe try somewhere like Gaijinpot in the first instance and then see if you can get any further than there.

Good luck with it all anyway, it sounds like an awesome adventure and what could be a really enjoyable life if it works out for you.

Re: Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

Be aware that you would become a Japanese taxpayer as soon as you settle there.

Re: Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

Their taxes are tiny compared with most western countries though. I would much rather be a Japanese tax payer than a British tax payer.

Re: Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

Luckily the wages are pretty good so I'm not too worried about taxes. Actually if I was based in the UK but got enough sea time in then I'd earn tax free. But my partner is based in Japan.

Yeah I've tried the same question on gaijinpot :) http://forum.gaijinpot.com/showthrea...itime-Industry

Re: Merchant Navy Officers living in Japan?
 

Did it get much of a response on there?

I'm a frequent lurker on GP but I don't really post on there for fear of getting into flame wars with idiots. There is another, slightly more mature, English language forum for expats in Japan that I have also used before but unfortunately the name of it escapes my memory at the moment.