# Medical Career in Japan



## GaijinDavid

Let me start off by saying that I'm sorry if this has been covered before in detail, but I've never fully understood the idea in forums that similar threads shouldn't exist as information often changes or new ideas are formed.

So, with that said, how are the prospects of becoming a medical professional in Japan when receiving education in the United States? More specifically, a Nuclear Medicine Technologist or Radiology Technician? I'm currently just enrolled in a junior college working on a biology degree, so I've got time to figure things out yet. It also doesn't have to be just the two professions listed above, I'm pretty open to many different career paths in medical, so if anyone knows of a path that's more in-demand than others, I would love to hear about it. From what I understand, there is a set of exams one must complete, which are entirely in Japanese (understandably so) to get hired on in health care. Does anyone have experience trying to learn medical terminology in Japanese? Is it like learning everything all over again? How much on-the-job experience would you say I should get here in the States before venturing forth into the Land of the Rising Sun? I'll more than likely move with intentions of teaching English for a year or two while becoming more familiar with the language and make use of my medical training/experience thereafter. 

Thank you all so much for your time and help in answering my bombardment of questions. I'm currently hoping to make the jump within about 5 years, so the more I know now, the better.


----------



## GaijinDavid

Does anyone have any insight at all? This doesn't seem to be the most heavily trafficked site in the world these days, but if anyone has suggestions for other forums to check or anything like that, I'd be happy to look it over.

Thanks

David


----------



## Clasevilla

I'm a nurse back in my home country and I'm having difficulty practicing my license here. There are so many exams to be taken and one needs to speak japanese fluently cause the medicines/diagnosis are difficult to translate to english. I'll ask around my mother's japanese friends how you can practice Nuclear Medicine Technologist or Radiology Technician and I'll get back to you if I got some feedback..


----------



## GaijinDavid

Thank you so much for responding. I thought it might be very difficult to practice there with the translations being so complicated. It seems to me that learning medical terms in English is already like learning another language. Having to then learn it again in Japanese would be like starting from the beginning. I'm not saying I'll let that stop me, but it's absolutely something I need to take into consideration well in advance.

Thanks again for the insight. If you learn anything else, I'd love to hear it.

David


----------



## akee

Hi David

Are you in Japan already?

To work in a medical environment (or for that matter, most industries) in Japan, you will need to speak, understand and write fluently in Japanese.

I'm a medical doctor in Singapore and am currently in Tokyo for sub-specialty training. I speak and understand very little Japanese. Thankfully my supervisor speaks English. It is extremely difficult to communicate with my fellow colleagues because they speak less than conversational English.

Think twice. Not to forget you will need to re-take all your exams in Japanese.

Hope this helps.

Adrian


----------



## GaijinDavid

akee said:


> Hi David
> 
> Are you in Japan already?
> 
> To work in a medical environment (or for that matter, most industries) in Japan, you will need to speak, understand and write fluently in Japanese.
> 
> I'm a medical doctor in Singapore and am currently in Tokyo for sub-specialty training. I speak and understand very little Japanese. Thankfully my supervisor speaks English. It is extremely difficult to communicate with my fellow colleagues because they speak less than conversational English.
> 
> Think twice. Not to forget you will need to re-take all your exams in Japanese.
> 
> Hope this helps.
> 
> Adrian


I am not in Japan yet. I live in the United States, but I'm hoping to emigrate to Japan within the decade. The medical field sounds like it must be very difficult to get adjusted to in a new country with a new language. Thank you for your insight. It's good to hear from someone that is undergoing this process currently and can tell me how they feel about. Do you have a time deadline for when you have to learn Japanese and take the exams?

Best of luck to you Adrian! I'm sure you'll pick up on the language quickly since you're already there. 

Thanks again for the reply!

David


----------

