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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.

About 1 in 5 student-to-work visa applications in Japan are rejected. The top cause is working over 28 hours a week. How major-job matching works, when to apply, and the December 2025 rule change.

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.