[Josh Grisdale]

Hey Justin,

First of all, great to hear you had some great experiences in Japan!  Please share about them in the forum here! (or on the Accessible Japan forum)

Second of all, great to hear you are interested in living here!

I will be honest, getting a foot (/wheel) in the door is essential and meeting people face to face can help a lot.  Companies are responsible for the care needs of their employees, so choosing a person with extra needs means extra work/money/open-mindedness.  Having a relationship with them, helps lessen the worry.

Helper hours are evaluated by the city, and can very depending on the city/ward you live in based on their budget/policy.  The amount you pay is related to your tax bracket.  Most people pay less than $100/mo.

Process:

• Find job that grants a visa
• Find apartment, register as a citizen of that city at the city hall
• Apply to the welfare department of the city
• Visit a doctor registered to perform disability checks by the city
• Take results to the city and get disability ID (may take 1-2 months)<br>
• Get assigned a care work who will assess you as to how many hours you are eligible for
• Make contracts with helper providers (may take 1-month or more)
• Start using helpers

So… it could take a few months to get into the system and you would need someone to support you in the meantime.

Not impossible, but you would either need an employer, or be a student… or a spouse of a Japanese citizen (or someone with a valid visa) before the process can start.

So, you want to teach English?