Here are the career paths of students who graduated from MJSP.

With the level of Japanese language ability and in-country cultural knowledge that you will have acquired on MJSP, you are ideally qualified to be a Japanese language teacher in your own country. Graduates from MJSP will not have a teaching certificate, so people considering a teaching career should find a suitable postgraduate course or teacher certification course (either inside or outside of Japan) to be taken after graduation from Hokkaido University.

There is a great demand for cutting edge research about Japan. MJSP’s bilingual curriculum makes it the ideal starting point for a research career because ease in using Japanese-language sources is essential in academic publishing or other research relating to Japan. To pursue a research career, you should proceed to postgraduate studies either inside or outside Japan after graduation from MJSP.

In the increasingly interconnected global economy, multilingual and multicultural people are in great demand in international business. Many Japanese companies are now actively recruiting non-Japanese staff for both their Japan-based operations and to run their branch businesses overseas. Hokkaido University is one of Japan’s most prestigious universities, so an education here will open many doors with Japanese employers. Contact our Careers Center for help in finding the right company for you and how to secure employment with them. Alternatively, you could aim for one of the many non-Japanese corporations that do business in or with Japan.

There are many careers in which a high level of specialist knowledge about Japan is a great asset. In the tourism industry, the millions of people who visit Japan every year want to rely on people with extensive local knowledge to make their trips smoother and more enjoyable. Or, you could work for a company that facilitates Japanese visitors’ trips to your country.

In the worlds of publishing and journalism, your specialist knowledge about Japan and broad-based education will be invaluable as an author or editor, whether in articles for websites, magazines and newspapers, or in the publications produced by trade presses (that publish non-academic books).

On MJSP you acquire a very high level of Japanese language ability alongside your English ability (and many students speak other languages, too). Employment possibilities in translating and interpreting take many forms: employment in a company as a document translator/editor, freelance translation, film subtitling, and simultaneous interpretation (although this latter option will require further specialist training not offered on MJSP). The basic prerequisite for doing any of these jobs is mastering the Japanese language, which is a core element of MJSP.

Perhaps you have an idea for a company that you want to found. Perhaps your family’s business wants to begin operations in Japan under your guidance. Perhaps you have a talent unrelated to your academic study that has an opportunity to flourish professionally in Japan. Perhaps you are studying about Japan because it is what genuinely interests you and you would prefer your career to be something completely different. Whatever your path is, we hope that MJSP gives you the confidence, all-round education and creativity necessary to make your chosen life path a rewarding and successful one.