There is a little over five years, I was employed by a Japanese company, and I lived in an apartment in suburban Tokyo (东京). I found some night a small group of French friends also installed in the country. We were young, happy and good will we really wanted to integrate into a country exciting and pleasant. Yet, we returned earlier than expected in Europe. Crossing last month, I ate at Ginza (银座) with the latest still present. He told me that he returned to France in late summer. We're now all gone from Japan, and here's why.
For some, the country was in a stopover anyway you want the shortest possible. Tokyo in particular includes a large community of French bankers derivatives specialists, developed a branch of the Japanese financial institutions that practice soon. The city is part of the initiatory journey of the profession and has a bad reputation: Tokyo has less charm at first as Paris or New York. And not to mention Japanese financiers remain confined to the Anglo-Saxon community centered around Roppongi (六 本 木), with its shops, restaurants and bars. At work, their only contact with locals is the secretary who prepared the Japanese visa, found their apartment, and sometimes reserve a taxi. It's a small world in which we suffocate quickly, and frustration is often change in contempt for the host country.
Our group included some bankers. However, most of us had learned Japanese during our studies, and were voluntarily came to Japan as or expatriate researchers. We all loved the young adult life in Tokyo: the city is safe, clean, alive and well Sunday at 21 o'clock in the evening izakaya (居酒屋), these Japanese pubs that serve food bar varied in well-watered low prices, are always nice. Akihabara (秋叶原), the area of electronics, has the latest camera models at attractive prices. A good hour commuter train takes you into the mountain valleys remote at the seaside, or in an onsen (温泉). Tokyo is also one of the first steps in all cultural tours and musical world. Often, integration into the life of his neighborhood is going well: I was told in a previous story of how a neighbor took me hunting bamboo shoots, and most had similar stories.
Our Weekdays were often more difficult. The researchers were not the worst off: the work is often in English, and science require less interaction with colleagues. Teaching positions also seem to pose fewer problems of integration. However, my scientific friends had a precarious status, and no opportunity to evolve to coaching, strictly reserved for Japanese. They got tired of it at some point after 5 or 10 years, most have preferred to return to the laboratory or by Western companies, often to a position of responsibility.
Expatriates evolved into the world of gaishikeis (外资 系), subsidiaries of international companies in Japan. The employees are Japanese, often with few leadership positions occupied by the Western parent company. These often have very limited control of what is happening in their business, the Japanese believe, sometimes rightly, that they know the local market better, and often do not want to invest in a relationship with those leaders who will leave anyway after two or three years. Young professionals and engineers, we were integrated with mainly local teams. Work abroad is never easy, and we did not speak any fluent Japanese. Nevertheless, we spent most of our time managing culture shock. It should deploy an incredible energy to not be set aside, and any dispute became protracted. The Western colleagues who have studied at Japanese universities and perfectly bilingual were often face the same difficulties, the barrier was not only due to language. The tension was palpable as often came to office in the morning. We had some support from senior executives of the company, but it is a double-edged sword: it's never good to be the "fayot" service. And this support is not eternal. The typical scenario is: a large group sends a brilliant leader in Japan to process and better monitor the Japanese subsidiary. But after two or three years of mixed success, it will return to the country, and we will leave the Japanese manage their affairs themselves. Once the leader Western will set foot on the plane to return home, the settling of accounts will begin.
Young white men for the most part we were first confronted with racist remarks. As it come to elderly men, often alcoholics, does not surprise him. But a significant number of younger colleagues open and cultivated, often having studied abroad, had similar thoughts when they had a few drinks, including the famous "Nihon ha ichiban Yappari やっぱり 日本 は 一番" or "Japan is really the first. " All This is rewarding but also very tiring. It also comes a time when it is desired to advance his career, and this requires practice his craft and develop his skills, not spend his time negotiating with their Japanese colleagues, and manage the cultural gap. When a headhunter or a former colleague stayed in France called to offer an opportunity was Europe, the decision to return is often obvious, albeit always with a twinge in my heart that we abandon a nice life.
The professional difficulties are arguably the heart of the departures. However, even with a good job, raise a family in Japan can be frightening for those who do not have significant financial resources, is particularly the case for those with a local employment contract without specific benefits, which becomes the rule if it is desired to settle on the spot: you can not be expelled for life. We may wish that his children have a French education, but the high school that offers this course is very expensive. If one accepts that they attend the Japanese system, it will often fear school violence stories (ijime - いじめ), including in some institutions of central Tokyo. Many Japanese parents prefer to do privately. And it can also be reluctant to subject his children three years of high school who may be more intense than the French preparatory classes, and a must for children and parents, ambitious. The retreat is also of concern: it contributes to the state pension which we feel it is, with the demographics at half-bleed. We must therefore think of a private retreat. And if you invest in a principal residence , it often will be worth nothing, and will perhaps even dangerous after 30 years: the property will not be sold or leased to constitute a additional income. We all could feel that our life any parent and retired in Japan would be much less pleasant than the condition of young unmarried why Tokyo is a paradise. That is all the more true that our careers would stagnate, which seemed likely.
There are other routes to Japan: in particular, many French and mostly English-speaking live from odd jobs, most famously perhaps conversation teacher. These are content with a few wealthy suburban existence, more enjoyable at least early on some shots in Tokyo than in France. Others have started their small business and arrived to create a small situation. But despite a few exceptions, examples of successful integration are very rare, and require thinking outside the box. Among the fifteen members of my group of friends, everyone left. Maybe we have preferred to leave Japan on "good terms" rather than force us to stay hard we would have rendered embittered towards our host country.
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