This week I went to a women only job fair in Shibuya, got basically ignored, sat through Japanese only company talks, printed my resume five times like it is 1998, and somehow left with hand sanitizer as my career reward.
Then I went back to applying online and got rejected in 20 minutes, saw job posts with 1,500+ applicants, and finally did an English teaching interview where “Is overtime okay?” was not a question, it was a warning. If you are thinking about working in Japan, here is the reality check: without strong Japanese and visa support, your options shrink fast, and the pay often does not match the overtime culture.