What employment opportunities are available to American attorneys in Japan?

If you were about to respond "English Teacher," that's pretty funny!





Please discuss those possibilities that don't require fluency in Nihongo. Thanks so much for your assistance.

What employment opportunities are available to American attorneys in Japan?
As an American attorney who wants a work environment that's in English, your employment opportunity is pretty much limited to American law firms with offices in Japan. I have a friend working at Morrison %26amp; Foerster's in Tokyo that way.





I don't know for how long this link will remain meaningful, but O'Melvenly %26amp; Myers has an opening in Tokyo.


http://www.omm.com/careers/lawyersandjud...





I think you just need to know which American law firms have an office in Japan and check up on their openings.
Reply:None. Zero,,,,Most jobs require that you can not only speak Japanese, but read and write it as well. NOT an easy thing to learn...You can't even work at a McDonalds without knowing Japanese at a native level. Unless you have a special needed skill a Japanese does'nt have, you're out of luck. Jobs will other-wise always go to a native Japanese first.


Most Japanese don't speak English.


Sorry, being an "American attrorney" in Japan is of no real value.
Reply:In order to get any kind of work in Japan, you have to be hired by a Japanese company that can sponsor your visa before you even get to Japan. You can't enter the country hoping to find work.


The responses above are basically correct. I do know one Australian woman who got a job with a Japanese law firm doing translation work, but she had the advantage of being fluent in English and her native language: Mandarin. She spoke zero Japanese though -- couldn't even order a beer in an izakaya. Incidentally, she quit after a few months anyway because she refused to work unpaid overtime, which the company expected of her.
Reply:English teacher is the job you could get if you can't speak Japanese. Even the American lawyers who do proofreading or whatever at international law firms in Tokyo can at least speak the language to some degree.
Reply:Not much if anything. You can't practice law in Japan, unless you become certified by the Japan Bar to give advice about US laws to Japanese, however, in which case you'll need to speak Japanese. Most international companies will already have their own staffs of lawyers for individual countries they are in. Eg Apple Japan will have Japanese lawyers working for them.