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Social media arrives fast; a blog gets found later by search. Use both. You do not need to monetise, and not doing so keeps your residence status out of it. But 42% of mid-career recruiters check applicants' social media.

Living in Japan but still cannot read the paperwork? Use the drill books Japanese children use, from grade 1. Six grades is 1,026 kanji, close to JLPT N2, and you can print them free.

A degree does not decide whether you can work in Japan, only which route you take. Specified Skilled Worker asks for tests instead of schooling. Includes the dispatch rule that catches people out.

Converting a licence costs 4,850 yen; starting from zero costs 200,000 to 400,000. The price swings over 100,000 yen with timing, workers can reach the cheap season, and Japanese is the real gate.

Japanese practice arrives in weeks, a portfolio in months, income maybe never. Why a visible body of work helps your job hunt and your student-to-work visa change, and why publishing is free but earning depends on your visa.

You can work a Japanese part-time job with only desu and masu plus eight set phrases. The direction trick that makes sonkeigo and kenjougo click, and the mistake guides skip: being too formal with friends keeps people at a distance.

Working part-time as a student needs a free permit and staying under 28 hours a week total across every job. Banned jobs, dark part-time job scams, safe ways to find work, and typical pay by job type.

In 2024, 96.7% of applications to change from a student visa to a work visa were approved. Refusals are about 1 in 30 — but whether you are that one is decided long before you apply. The 28-hour rule, attendance, and matching your major to the job.

What your visa really allows in Japan: side jobs on a work visa, the 28-hour rule for students, full freedom for spouses and permanent residents - and the two things that are always legal.