Jobs In Japan?? Anyone?

[I-Fly-River]

Hey Guys,
Im just wondering if its difficult to get into any domestic japanese airlines or even the bigger international ones. I dont hear of many expat pilots flying in the Land of The Rising Sun. Correct me if im wrong. Maybe could shed some reasons why also? It doesnt seem hot there even though the Sun keeps on Rising......





When the weather goes bad, I-Fly-River(IFR)

[Viper52]

I have a couple of ex-colleagues in Japan and apparently there are a few expats flying for both the domestic and international airlines in Japan but it is notoriously hard to get a position in the first place and then get through the miriad of obstacles that are imposed.

The JCAB (Civil Aviation Bureau) calls the shots at every turn. Firstly the initial JCAB medical is a marathon in itself - at least two days of tests and checks, including drug testing, stgress ECG, EEC, psychological assessment, psychiatric interviews and a whole range of physical checks. The failure rate is reported to be over 60%.

Then comes the J-ATPL - another huge obstacle course which includes JCAB testing in a Simulator. Attrition rate for those that last the distance is apparently quite high.

Japanese standards are reportedly very high and those that get through are usually very capable and experienced operators.

Most of the jobs in Japan are contract. PARC, Rishworth and IAC are the main companies. PARC reportedly gets the choice jobs and judging from reports the pilots that work for Rishworth and particulalry IAC have problems.

I blieve that living in Japan is not easy because of language and cultural problems. Western pilots are not always welcomed and a re apparently often regarded as cheap foreign labour by their Japanese counterparts despite the fact that the contracts pay quite well.

Far easier to head for the UAE or Europe.

[I-Fly-River]

Viper 52 - Thanx for you input... Maybe Japan is not a place to
look for job eh? ;)

Hey Viper52,

Thanx for your input. No wonder there's not many expats
in Japan. ;)

[Joe Stano]

I was stationed there.

Generally, foreigners are unwelcome. They even segregate fellow Asians.

There is a considerable culture shock.

A Japanese wife helps. I know a fellow who lived quite happily with one.

I knew another fellow who became expert in Jaaenese, and he commented that now that he can speak to the, he has nothing to say to them.

It all depends, I guess.

[Foreign Worker]

From some acquaintances with whom I occasionally meet when laying over in Japan, they say that the money is okay however the extremely high cost of living erodes it away much faster than elsewhere.
Discrimination appears to be a problem, and whilst not overt to the casual visitor or tourist, for those residing there it is the cause of many unpleasntries from time to time.

The extra perks that Japanese pilots get, over and above their (extremely) high base salaries would be the envy of many of us. For example, the company pays for ALL of their uniform laundry, they are transported to and from work by private taxis, all Japanese employees receive either free or generously subsidised company accomodation and/or an accomodation allowance (I believe it is around USD1,000 per month for the ANA pilots).
Hours flown per month are around 30-50.
Night stop allowances for Japanese is approx. USD100 per night - handy for buying drinks for the young, blonde Russian, English, and Australian hostesses who work in the lounges that are exclusively for the Japanese men.

But forget all of that if you are not Japanese (perhaps non-Japanese are made of stronger stuff!) - you will be expected to work double the hours, for half the pay and half the number of days off per month. That may well be the reason for the strict medicals.
Rome, nor the Burma Railroad, were built in a day.

One of the fellows commented that they treat their dogs better!