My Number: Welcome to Japan's new unified tax and benefit number system

Get ready folks, because come 2015, you will be the proud owner of brand spanking new My Number (マイナンバー) issued by the friendly folks at the Japanese Government. On May 24th, the three major parties in the National Diet finally got off their duffs and managed to put together a brand new law that gives everyone residing in Japan (foreigners included) a single unified identification number akin to a US Social Security number.

The so-called mai nannbaa-ho (マイナンバー法), or "My Number Act" (officially called the shakai hosho zei bango-ho 社会保障・税番号法 or "Social Benefits and Tax Number Act") will have far reaching effects on just about everyone who uses a government service (i.e. the whole country). Lets take a peek at what the law entails.

How to Ace an Interview: Basically, Just Stay Calm

Thanks to guest contributor OnlineMBA for today's post content:

3 Tips For Your [Job] Interview

"People who interview well seem to do so effortlessly. While the rest of us waste time studying single-use, canned answers we’ll probably never use in the actual interview, these lucky few come in and rattle off brilliant responses without any preparation at all.

Prospective employers can present these breezy interviewees with surprise panel interviews, hairy logic problems, or uncomfortable salary questions and they’ll handle each thoughtfully, without panicking. Now, most of us aren’t like that, but we can learn a few things from those that are.

One distinguishable difference between these candidates and the rest of us is that they come into an interview without expectations of how it will be conducted. They go with an aim to learn and discuss if they’d be a good fit for the organization, not to prove that they will be. So, instead of pouring over a laundry list of stay-cool tips the days and night before your interview, check out the latest video from OnlineMBA to learn three easy-to-remember tricks to both appear and actually be more relaxed during your interview."

Jinji Ido: Why Japanese teachers change schools all the time

If you work in a public school, then you may have noticed that, come the end of the year, many teachers are transferred to other locations. In big schools, it is not uncommon for a good portion of the staff to pack up at the end of the school year and, if you are lucky, you might just be able to get rid of that one teacher you just can't stand.

This part of a time honored tradition known as jinji ido (人事異動), often translated as "personnel transfer." Let's take a closer look...

Teacher Perks

For those of you who work in the public or private school system in Japan, you have likely noticed that many teachers are always (or at least seem to be) very, very busy. To make matters worse, public school teachers aren't exactly rolling in money when you look at their raw salaries. However, there are some very substantial job perks that almost make the long days and low pay worth it.

Claiming Unemployment Benefit in Japan

You may not be aware that it is possible to claim unemployment benefit for up to three months in Japan.

Here's an overview:

Changes in Japanese Job Interviews (2/2)

Among the frantic fanaticism of Dogs and Demons, Alex Kerr lays down a valid point: The pinnacle of the Japanese education system are students who are extremely good at memorizing and reciting data. So has the world of Japanese interviews long rewarded interviewees: Those who could flawlessly recite a 60-second 自己紹介 and 志望動機, answer predictable questions with predictable answers, and complete the motions of the process, got the job.

Changes in Japanese Job Interviews (1/2)

Job interviews are changing in Japan. That's the message every recent Japanese 就活 book seems to be trying to pound into the heads of its readers, and I personally agree with it. In my own experience, I could tell that companies weren't so interested in whether I had an encyclopedic knowledge of interview etiquette and rote-memorized answers to questions like "What is your greatest strength and weakness?" or "Do you consider yourself a rock or a sponge?" as they were with my actual capacity and drive to work in a way that promotes company growth (as opposed to mere sustainability.)

My wall-of-text take on the subject, objective, anecdotal, and fueled almost entirely by personal experience interviewing for jobs at big- and not-so-big-name firms in Tokyo and elsewhere, follows. But for readers who want the tl;dr, here it is: job interviews at Japanese companies, in Japan, for Japanese and foreign applicants alike, are growing more and more alike their Western counterparts.

Q&A: Changing Jobs

How old is too old to be looking for new work? Traditional Japanese thinking says that people should only be hired for a job once, right after they complete their education, and the company and employee should loyally support each other until retirement. It doesn't always work that way, but Chiebukuro is here to tell you how old's too old when you're thinking about changing jobs.

Being an ALT #18: What to Keep in Your Desk

Over time teaching I've accumulated a lot of stuff in my desk. Most of it is papers, textbook samples, student grades, past exams, articles and publications about English, and Japanese learning resources. But there are a few odds and ends around me that I probably didn't expect I'd use with such regularity before I got into the job.

Here are a few of the things that maybe not everyone associates with teaching or lesson planning, but which I now find essential or which have helped me out in tight situations:

Maggie Sensei's Job Hunting Vocab

It's been a while since we wrote about job hunting here, although it always seems a continuing point of consternation for some number of our readers. If you're like me, anyway, when you're out of a job or nearing the end of a contract, finding a new one is always on the mind.

English Language Newspapers

There are several Japanese papers available in English, although they are often supplemented with articles from other English-speaking countries' newspapers. Some are also aimed more at Japanese people practicing English than English readers. This blog will give an overview of the most popular print and eNewspapers available.

Maternity Leave in Japan

Worried about not being able to have kids with your "part-time" English teaching job? Well, I've got some news for you which I hope will make you as happy as it made me.