Hello, some introductions first, I am 23 (24 this year), finished my bachelors last year in international relations, since than I’ve been doing the old corporate gig and realized I want to blow my brains out, this led me to consider other ventures, mainly a master’s so I can get into academia, with that said, I’d like to get into why I'm here, I want to move and settle in Japan, for this reason I’m considering pursuing a master’s in Asian Studies and eventually using it as a pathway to a move to Japan. However I am reluctant (or better put, afraid that I’ll be wasting my time) due to the networking required for positions at think tanks, for example, I wonder how viable it would be for me to actually do it in my home country (Western btw, so not a massive security threat to Japan like other countries, but still), or at all, as these academic professions tend to be dominated by native citizens. Additionally, networking is ideally done during grad school and doing it in my home country would remove this chance. And to finish off, it’s usually senior and already established researchers that get picked up by think tanks, not a foreigner with no credentials or published works under his belt. So, what I'm asking is, is it possible for Japan (or any country for that matter) to take in a recent master in an extremely academic and sensitive field when it already has its citizens to draw from? Should I do a master’s in Japan, or would my chances basically be the same as a master’s in my home country? And finally, what other possible paths could I have other than think tanks that are like what I’ve described and could help me move to Japan? I’d assume university research departments but then I feel like that would just lead me to my first question. If anyone with knowledge or works in these fields could elucidate me I’d appreciate any help or advice.
by EvilPerson21