One thing that is quite common about living in Japan as a student is to get a part-time job. Part-time work in Japan require little professional training so almost anyone can apply. As long as you have a student visa and have applied for a work permit, then you can start your journey of finding a part-time job in Japan. There are many different part-time jobs that exist in Japan. Students can be found working in restaurants, cafes, clothing stores, convenience stores, hot spring resorts and many more. Almost any type of job in Japan hires part-timers. However, on important note to keep in mind when working in the Japanese society is to know the language, but also the working culture.
Students have different motives for when they apply for a part-time job. It may be salary, the experience, impressive CV, convenience and any type of motive that might interest you. Of course, it is not necessary to apply for a part time job when living in Japan as a student, but it is definitely recommended as it will help you grow as an individual. Learning new skills and knowledge is sure to be a guarantee when finding part-time in Japan. The culture of working in Japan is admired all across the world. The Japanese are praised for their professionalism and strong emphasis on respect within a company. There is a reason why majority of students in Japan gets a part-time job, it is of course fun to receive salary, but the experience is very important for when the students will prepare for the very important job-hunting they will experience once they become fourth year students. Applying for jobs in Japan is a yearly process in which many students in university will go through heavy training so that they may prepare towards working in Japanese companies. It is therefore quite common for domestic students to at least have one part-time job as it improves their CV, and certainly prepares them for the tough job-hunting experience. For international students it is quite common to get a part-time job so they can prepare for job-hunting as well, however many international students also get a part-time job for other reasons as they might not want to work in a Japanese company once they graduate.
Take students at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University (APU for short) as an example. There are those students that are referred to as working “downtown” and those that work on-campus. By “downtown”, APU students mean the city of Beppu in which where the university is located. When a student has a part-time job located in Beppu they usually might have that part-time job because of higher salary, but also the experience of learning more about Japanese society. By working downtown, let’s take 7/11 as an example. The student will definitely use very formal Japanese with their colleagues, but also the customers. Customer service is something Japanese society takes a lot of pride in, so the way of speaking and behaving is extremely important when working with a job related to service. In addition, working “downtown” is said to have a higher salary, but this really depends on the prefecture you live in, but also the type of job.
If you are curious about how much a regular student would make in Japan, the numbers are quite different depending on the location. I therefore strongly recommend you to ask Google-sensei as it is quite easy to find information regarding salary from what type of part-time job and its location in Japan. As for minimum wage, this as well is different depending on prefecture. APU is located in Oita Prefecture and as of November 2021, the minimum wage is ¥822 per hour. However, in a bigger prefecture like Tokyo where it is also more expensive to live due to its convenience, the minimum wage as of now is ¥1,041 per hour (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, 2021). In addition, when working in Japan as a student it is very important to keep in mind the limitation of how many hours of work is permitted every week. In Japan, students are allowed to work up till 28hrs/week during the semester, but during holidays they are allowed to work up till 40hrs/week. Keep in mind that anything over is illegal.
As for students that work part-time jobs on-campus, the experience might be a little different. Usually when a student works on campus, they might work for the convenience. It is rather quite convenient to have your classes and job at the same place. Examples of different part-time jobs you might experience working on campus is Teacher Assistant (TA), Resident Assistant (RA), student organization, or work with the university faculty staff. At APU, students can become TA in almost anything. It ranges from lecture TA to small classroom TA. If you know English but would like to interact more with Japanese students then great, becoming an English TA would be a great option for you. However, if you would like to speak more Japanese then working in a student organization or with the university office would be something for you. There you will be required sometimes to speak very formal Japanese to your boss as they might be Japanese, and it is definitely good to learn how to behave in a Japanese office. Furthermore, it is rather quite normal for students that work on campus, have more than one part-time job. It is rather common to have 2 or 3 jobs. For example, me writing this blog post, I work for the APU admissions office, I am a lecture TA, and I am also the vice-leader of a student organization. It is of course tough to manage education with work, but as long as you manage your schedule correctly and make room for personal time, then you are sure to succeed. Furthermore, I mainly decided to have 3 part-time jobs, because of the experience and it definitely helps me improve my CV.
Overall, if you aim to come to Japan to study, then I definitely recommend you to find a part-time job. You can work both “downtown” and on-campus, anything that interests you, you should definitely apply for. Speaking from personal experience, a part-time job has helped me financially, but also improve a lot as a person. I moved to Japan when I was only 18 years old and I still felt like a child, but after getting a few jobs that definitely helped me grow up and finally feel like an adult. I have improved my Japanese skills, definitely learned more about Japanese norms and customs, and become a strong confident person. In addition, I have met so many wonderful people and made many friends. If you wish to live in Japan as a student and have questions regarding anything related to part-time jobs, then feel free to contact us on the Instagram Link shared below.
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