Leaving Japan, then and now

I’ve been thinking lately about when was the best time to move from Japan to the US in the past decades. I think that the time between early 80s and early 90s was the best time for Japanese people to come to America. According to my Japanese friend who grew up in the US, the 70s was a tough time for many Asian immigrants. He was regularly taunted by other kids who made “Asian eyes” and shouted racial slurs. One might argue that this kind of thing can happen today, but he was in a good school (where Japanese corporate types send their kids) near a big city.

Most people from Japan that I know who successfully took root here moved between early 80s and early 90s. Some of them came here with their parents and others moved on their own (went to a college, transfer to a US office, etc.). I don’t personally know anyone who made it among those who came from Japan after 2001. I hope that the decade was not the last glimpse of American dream for Japanese people.

There are people who express their thoughts similar to mine. They say coming to America about 20 years ago was a right timing. The trouble is that it is hard to know when is the right time when you are about to move. In 1990, I went to an MBA Q/A session and asked about the prospect of finding a job after getting the degree. I was basically told that there is no guarantee to find a job in the US after the program is done and I should not count on the possibility of finding a visa sponsor. I like straight talkers and I took the advice seriously. I decided to give up the joy of studying for GMAT and sought the opportunity to work in the US HQ (it worked).

When I left Japan most people didn’t use internet. I didn’t even have a cellular phone. Back then voice mail systems seemed to be cutting edge. I bought a copy of “How to walk on the planet” (Chikyu no aruki kata) to get information about the city where I was going to live. At that time I was given the address of my corporate apartment, but the guy in charge forgot to tell me how to get the key! Well, everything is a good memory now.