Japan eyes startup visa program • Hacker News Board

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#211

Post by supergarfield » Sat, Dec 09, 2017, 5:37 PM UTC

titanix2 wrote: post #196

ArmandGrillet wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Did you ever work in another country? I work in Germany with colleagues from many different countries, and our country does not suck. The French post is one of the best in the World, train delays are the same in France as in Germany (shall we compare with the situation in the US?), the administration is a PITA but they actually try to help instead of killing you (+ the number of organisms to help startups in France i…

> Did you ever work in another country? Yes. I'm currently working in another country and I've been studying in Japan for a year. So I have few points of comparison. Terrorism is not just a question of numbers. The problem is more about how the government handle the matter. When you read things like terrorists getting welfare[1] for years, the fact they can keep the nationality[2] and returnees jihadists from Syria w…

[1] is from Russia Today, so I'll abstain from commenting

[2] is true, but it should be noted that this is standard procedure in the West, since citizenship is considered one the most inalienable rights (in Germany, loss of citizenship only occurs through taking another one; in the US, it's only possible for naturalized citizens to lose their citizenship if they commit terrorism within 5 years of being naturalized).

[3] the article does not say that djihadis will be welcomed.

[4] is standard procedure in the West. You can't detain people who don't even stand accused, unless you're the US and have absolutely no concern about egregiously violating your constitution (and human rights). And tracking 15,000 people is beyond what any police force can do.

[5][6] it is generally not a good idea to comment on criminal trials, since you have access to very little compared to the judges and jury. It's also unclear that detention is a good solution to the problem anyways.

[7] is perfectly correct.

[8] it is considered prosecutable, this person is on trial. Also see [6], and again, unless you have a very good reason to think the accused actually knew he was hosting terrorists (which the judges, who have access to far more information that you do, don't), there's nothing visibly wrong about that trial.

Finally,

> Anyway I could simply have started my post with a question, like you did: did you ever had a friend got shot in a terror attack? > > I guess not, otherwise you would not just speak about numbers.

It's not with strong feelings that you'll make good policy. It's very sad that people die, but it's no good reason to drop all common sense.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#212

Post by mailshanx » Sat, Dec 09, 2017, 9:19 PM UTC

coinme wrote: post #161

ThrustVectoring wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

wait, as a non-citizen of Japan you are allowed to sponsor yourself for a work visa? That sounds, uhh, strange.

This is possible in Singapore too. It’s technically the business that is sponsoring you.

Do you know of anyone who has done this? I'd love to buy them coffee!

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#213

Post by timr » Sat, Dec 09, 2017, 10:02 PM UTC

redler wrote: post #209

timr wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, if you have a phone+SIM card from Bic, you get a number. You need a non-tourist visa for that one, though...which means you need the stamped gaijin card. I never had issues with anyone being snobby about the number, but I was in a bigger city, so maybe I had it easy. (My sad/funny story was that in order to cancel the recurring phone payment, I needed to receive a text message to the phone number I was cancelling…

Could you have mailed the SIM back to a friend in Japan?

Probably, but I'd have to explain the whole thing and do international postage and whatnot, and it wasn't worth the hassle.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#214

Post by scott_karana » Sun, Dec 10, 2017, 12:28 AM UTC

datamingle wrote: post #84

jacquesm wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

And excellent, free healthcare.

"free"

Concealed/externalizer, then?

Still much less expensive than in the US, inarguably.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_h...

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#215

Post by makx » Sun, Dec 10, 2017, 12:41 AM UTC

laurieg wrote: post #210

makx wrote: post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> You can't start a side business on a regular work visa. This is incorrect. A friend of mine started a businesses on a work visa and I myself have even started a business on a student visa [1]. No legal problems. I just recently switched from "Student" to "Manager" visa, and immigration had no problems with the fact that the business was already running for over a year before I applied for my residence status to be…

Sorry if my statement was inaccurate. The legal advice I have received states that if I were to start a company I would need to change residence types or would be unable to renew my current visa. So how does your friend renew his visa? Does he renew as a standard work visa and declare his company at the same time?

As long as you have your current position (employment in my friends case or university enrollment in my case) you can extend the visa on those grounds, basically making you business a "side-business". After you quit your job or leave university, your visa stays valid until the end of the term. When the visa expires, you will have to apply for a Business Manager (経営者) visa, because you are not an employee (授業員) at your company, but an executive (役員).

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#216

Post by mikekchar » Sun, Dec 10, 2017, 2:44 AM UTC

literallycancer wrote: post #201

mikekchar wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also moved here 10 years ago (though spent 2 years in the UK in the middle). I'm married to a Japanese woman and her family accepts me completely. My mother in law refers to me as her son and introduces me that way to people who don't know me. Some people are surprised, but people treat me exactly the same way they treat everybody else. In my neighbourhood, I know pretty much everybody (mainly because I work from hom…

>The inside/outside issue is really the key. Everybody is an outsider in some context. Understanding your place and whether or not you are inside or outside is critical. If you want to be inside, you also need to follow the inside rules -- even if you don't agree with them. In my experience, this is where people get into troubles. If you say, "Hey, I don't agree with that, I don't want to do it" the response is unive…

Yeah, I think that's a really apt description of the culture clash that happens. If you go into it with that expectation, you'll get absolutely steam rolled. I mean, you can still disagree, but you have to pick and choose your venues for talking about it. It's quite a famous saying that Japanese people have 3 faces: one that you present to the general public, one that you present to your friends and family and one that you keep completely to yourself. If you can't/won't do that then you will never fit in. It's worth noting that there are some Japanese people who have difficulty and they also don't fit in.

One thing I should point out is that "inside/outside" is always relative. It's not like people classify you as being Japanese/not Japanese most of the time. If you work for a company, then you are "inside" in the company -- as long as you follow the rules: going to drinking parties, showing up on time in the morning, dressing properly, staying late, etc, etc. You are also "inside" in your family -- again as long as you follow the rules: showing up for important events like Obon, Shougatsu, etc; paying deference to the head of the family; etc, etc. You are also "inside" in your community -- again rules: paying the "community fee", sorting your garbage properly, doing your turn at cleaning the community, participating in the community festival, etc, etc.

So when people see me, they don't see "Foreigner Mike"; they see Mike who works at blah, is in blah family, lives in blah community, is a member of blah sports club, is a regular at blah izakaya... and tangentially -- came originally from Canada. But a lot of foreigners don't really understand that: they have a contract position at some company, don't become a fixture in that company, don't have a family, don't get involved in the community (and especially actively avoid paying fees, or volunteering, etc) -- so the only thing left is "Foreigner Joe".

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#217

Post by mikekchar » Sun, Dec 10, 2017, 3:20 AM UTC

magnusdeus123 wrote: post #203

mikekchar wrote: post #143

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Also moved here 10 years ago (though spent 2 years in the UK in the middle). I'm married to a Japanese woman and her family accepts me completely. My mother in law refers to me as her son and introduces me that way to people who don't know me. Some people are surprised, but people treat me exactly the same way they treat everybody else. In my neighbourhood, I know pretty much everybody (mainly because I work from hom…

Man, this was a real breath-of-fresh-air. As someone who has had a pet dream of moving to Japan, and has this very thing as their primary fear, I feel relieved every time I hear something like this from someone of foreign origin, living in Japan.

Compared to many places in the world, Japan is a relatively easy place to migrate to. Having a university degree makes a massive difference, so if you are serious about it, then I recommend that. Also, if you are young, one area that I think often gets overlooked is that if you have a master's degree, you can get an instructor's visa and teach at college level. If you are under 40 and from an eligible country, I also highly recommend the JET programme, which is the programme I initially came in on. It's a government programme and is an incredibly soft landing into Japan -- visa get's sorted for you, you can bring your spouse, you can stay for up to 5 years -- which, if you are diligent is just enough time to learn a decent amount of Japanese, you are set up with a subsidised, furnished apartment with all the utilities hooked up, you aren't expected to be able to speak much Japanese, etc. But there are many other ways to come to Japan and probably it's more difficult to sort out leaving your home country than it is to actually find a way to work in Japan.

The biggest thing I will caution you is that most people who come here with expectations of what it's going to be like have a bit of a rude awakening. In Japanese culture if you are hammering a nail and it doesn't go in, you hit it harder. If it still doesn't go in, you hit it even harder. If it still doesn't go in, you pull it up and throw it away. This is one of the reasons why you see posts like the OP's.

I have found that people who come from countries with a strong cultural and moral background have a very difficult time in Japan. Japan also has a strong cultural and moral background -- but the culture and morals are different. You may find yourself in the situation where you are thinking, "I'm supposed to do X. X is morally wrong. I refuse to do X." -- and, well, at that point you are kind of screwed. If you have a more relativistic view of morals then it is much easier. Personally I have had to change my attitude from being "This way or no way at all" to constantly thinking, "What action on my part is likely to be successful in this circumstance". I don't give up my morals, but I act/refrain from acting in such a way as to be compatible with my surroundings. A lot of times that ends up with me keeping my mouth shut for a very long time, just waiting for the correct opportunity.

If you understand that you must adapt to Japan and that Japan will not adapt to you, then you will be fine. Either you will find that you can adapt and will have very few problems, or you will decide that Japanese culture is not your cup of tea. Resist the temptation to slam yourself up against the brick wall that is Japan. It hurts a lot.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#218

Post by romanovtexas » Sun, Dec 10, 2017, 3:44 AM UTC

laurieg wrote: post #88

romanovtexas wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>This process is hard but not as nightmarish as people who don't live in the country reading articles make it sound. Agree wholeheartedly. Been living in Fukuoka myself for the past two years, and I cannot help but notice that the foreign population here has been steadily growing. Although the city is marketing themselves to be the new Startup hub in Japan, I still think it has to be as global as say, Tokyo, to catch…

Hello fellow Fukuokarite! The city has definitely been pushing hard for foreign startups but the changes they are making are only baby steps and PR in my opinion. I thought it was rather strange that the press conference held by the mayor to promote foreign startups had to have an interpreter because the mayor couldn't manage any English and the foreign entrepreneurs on stage didn't speak Japanese.

I went to the Startup cafe a couple of times, but I failed to grasp all the general amazement around it. I hoped to meet new people and learn about their entrepreneurial activities, but again, the people didn't speak English; and those that did, didn't seem interested.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#219

Post by mistermann » Sun, Dec 10, 2017, 4:15 AM UTC

sdrothrock wrote: post #162

mistermann wrote: post #129

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Japan's greatest strength and it's greatest weakness is that just about everyone in the society is in the same "lane". This means you get a bunch of good and bad characteristics in the vast majority of the population. I've never heard it described this way before, it makes a lot of sense.

My Japanese girlfriend is always curious (from a distance) about America and what it's like there -- she sometimes assumes that it must be a terrible place because I chose Japan. I usually explain that Japan and America have the same average quality, but Japan's peaks and troughs are fairly close to the average, while America's are much more extreme. I don't know if that makes sense (and I'm not guaranteeing it's 100…

> I usually explain that Japan and America have the same average quality

Depends on the attribute, they certainly don't have the same average politeness, honesty, and public cleanliness. But then Japan has some unique downsides as well.

Re: Japan eyes startup visa program

#220

Post by beagle3 » Sun, Dec 10, 2017, 8:48 PM UTC

pentae wrote: post #179

ransom1538 wrote: post #60

Slightly off topic. But this Japanese program sounds totally dressing and covered in tape. If you work remote and are completely self sufficient is there any country that will just let you live there?

Thailand, for sure.

It was never officially approved in Thailand, and now it's officially illegal: https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/work/693976/visa-runs-n... - I know people are still doing it, and I know of very public enforcement for a very short time (probably done to make a statement).

YMMV.