Truly a bizarre result from the Republican primary. The Republicans in 1936 had the decency to put forward someone like Alf Landon, a mostly reasonable type of person.

Huntsman would have been a much more formidable opponent to win over the muddled morons of the middle who don’t know who to vote for still.

Hell, I’d be tempted to vote for Huntsman, even though he too started kowtowing to the conservative party line in the race (saying he was against ObamaCare).

Not sure the Dems can hold the Senate though, and for some reason the House is out of reach too, so even if Obama holds on, things are going to be real bad here, 2013-2016.

JLPT 1級 or bust! I need those 10 points for the new visa point system, LOL.

@Troy,

I may be completely wrong but the way I read the point system is that a person already has to be in the visa system for the points to make a difference. It is not clear that one can just show up at Narita and say I have xxx number of points.

But, again I am not sure.

Also, it is unclear that if you are already in the visa system–have a job in japan–how the point system really makes any significant difference. Perhaps I have just not delved deep enough into the whole thing.

yeah, it’s for primo treatment for people applying for a Certificate of Eligibility for an already existing visa class I guess.

With the JLPT 1 in-hand, I’d need an ¥8M yen salary commitment from an employer. W/o, ¥10M. Not really sure how either are particularly realistic in this climate.

In some ways next year’s job market might be more accessible now for me compared to when I was FOB in Tokyo in 1992. I’m a lot older of course, but I don’t feel 20 years older, LOL. The web (and Apple!) has certainly changed everything, as has Japan’s rising trade with China . . .

This graph shows how Japan’s worker-bee population has fallen since its 1970s peak.

It also shows there are slightly fewer worker bees now than compared to 1992, and this trend will continue.

I was at best JLPT-3 caliber in 1992-95, but I’ve managed to do a lot of studying, plus teh torrents have been kind to me — I’ve consumed much more Japanese media being gone than when I was there.

I’m also getting into shape to meet Japan’s draconian 85cm waistline requirement. Not sure that’s still a current campaign, but I figure it wouldn’t hurt for the “mamacita” option anyway . . . plus I still have my college-era 501s that somehow got too small for me in the late 1990s that I want to get into again . . .

http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/english/topics/pdf/120502/05_e.pdf

has the differences. The biggest difference is 5 years until PR.

So leaving Japan after 7+ years may not have been my most intelligent idea, LOL. D’oh!

@ Troy

I think you are missing the trees from forest. If you want to enter the visa program
And play the point game, then yes, you do need to have x,y,and z. But
You can certainly get a job/visa that is well below 8million yen year.
As I may or may not have mentioned before, there are something in the area of 26 different types of visas now. For example,
I could get you a visa through my company under at least a four different visa categories. (off the top of my head)

As with all things it is who you know. This type of discussion is better off the Internet. Ask Luis to forward you my email. I think he has a hotmail one. I will check it over the next few days.

Cheers
Matthew

Also, I take visa sponsorship seriously, so this is not an offer for a fake one. But with your skills, there is work that needs to be done that could help me and you. Win win and totally above board.

Just not 8 million yen

Oh. Ok. Both should be ok. But the japan.email is best to start. Thanks.. You are
a gentleman and a scholar.

Perhaps one day Luis will post something on the topic of this new visa point system for foreigners planning to visit Japan. This is the first I’ve heard of it. I looked over the test questions on the link below

http://www.jlptstudy.net/N2/index.html

As for me, I think I could pass the Level 1 or 2 test in Listening, but in Reading I am closer to a 3 or 4.

Komatta naaa…

This is the first I’ve heard of it. I looked over the test questions on the link below

going with http://www.jlptstudy.net/N2/N2_reading_p3_2005.html

I used 10.7’s text to speech (slowed down a bit):

http://soundcloud.com/user-8305881/jlptn2reading

and you can see it’s a pretty decent study aid if your listening is better than your reading.

As for the new visa thing, the gov’t only expects 2,000 or so people to qualify a year on it, which is kinda weird given the size of their economy and apparent need for internationalization still.