There is a possibility I can apply to an internal position in my company that is based in APAC (ie includes Japan), same role that I have right now. Already know the office over there and one of my colleagues recently moved there too (internal position as well). International company so mixed bag of Japanese and (mostly) foreigners. Japanese descendant, but very basic Japanese. Do not consider this a permanent move (company requires a 'minimum stay' of 2 years).
I'm in my 30s, single, no kids. My current life is not bad, but is nothing special either, and the opportunity seemed good enough to risk for the experience (considering it's a stable position and I would be going with a working visa). Not living in luxury, but stable enough not to have any debts, live with parents and help with costs, have savings, and able to enjoy hobbies.
I know being able to pass but not able to communicate is a disadvantage, so my main focus would be to improve Japanese (as I always wanted, but never got the motivation to do so where I live) as a personal motivation/'obligation'. Almost everything that I like is Japanese – anime, manga, games, music. I feel more Japanese than my current nationality but know full well that I'll also feel like a foreigner over there (regarding societal customs, etc).
Have plenty of relatives (my parents' generation all do factory work, younger generation blue-collar) who could help if needed. Parents are on their 70s, perfect health but are not getting younger. Are not opposed to me moving, am not too attached to friends (I am mostly on my own, and do not keep in touch online either).
I work a 8-5 job, IT customer support, good team (compared to other teams in the company), translation background but never really did any freelance job so zero experience to start at this point.
Of course nothing would come out of it if my manager doesn't approve of me applying to the position in the first place, but wanted to gather some insight from you. My main concerns would be keeping afloat and still being able to provide for my parents across the globe. Worried the moving costs would cause a permanent dent in my savings that I would not be able to recover. Living alone would mean having less time than I currently do to study Japanese or take any other classes. Don't have hard skills that would help me apply for other companies easily (I don't even do that here in my country since I don't know what to specialize in either). My company would offer a slight increase enough to be able to afford Tokyo (and surrounding cities), around 4-5m/year max, is that enough? I really don't want to resort to factory work, but know that can be an alternative if nothing else works out.
Motivators/TLDR: my main motivator is learning Japanese once and for all – at some point I considered dropping everything and enrolling in a Japanese course only, but since this opportunity came up I wondered if it would be a better alternative. I could use the money to move to invest in my studies here? Absolutely. Did I do that in the last two decades? No. I'm forever frustrated I didn't grow up with the basics at least, would have made learning a lot easier, and I always feel that 'obligation' to know Japanese for being a descendant. I consider using the Japanese I learn for translation later on! Also being able to enjoy my hobbies up close (I'm not a big spender/collector, and I don't mind second-hand stuff at all), colder/longer winters (I know summer is unfortunately brutal, but I come from a tropical country so I don't think it would be much different), having experience living (alone and) abroad, having given it a try rather than keep wondering.
by sheewo