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Have you ever respected foreigners before? People who work and contribute to Japan in their youth
ngl, your frustration is totally valid. the tokutei ginou system feels like it was designed to keep people on a leash rather than build a life here. i've seen friends on that visa hit the same wall with the exam and the company refusing to help, and it's a mess.
the thing is, japan's immigration policy has always been about temporary labor, not long-term settlement. they want the work but not the worker. the permanent residency 10 year rule is real, but the processing time at shinagawa can drag on for another year or more even after you qualify. it's a way to make people give up.
have you looked into the jimin or jcp local offices in your ward? they sometimes have free consultation days for immigration issues and can push a little pressure on the company or the immigration bureau. it's not a fix but it's a better shot than the official channels alone.
I get the frustration. The tokutei ginou system has real problems, especially with that exam requirement and the way years of work are treated like they don't count if you switch employers. I've talked to a few people at the shinagawa immigration office who were in similar situations, and the rule feels more like a trap than a fair path.
That said, it's not true that Japan doesn't give permanent residency at all. The 10 year rule is the standard, but some people with highly skilled professional visas can get it in as little as one year if they score enough points on the point system. It's a bureaucratic nightmare, but the option exists. The real issue is that the system was designed to bring people in for specific labor shortages, not to build long term lives here, and that's a choice the government made.
You're not wrong to be angry about it. Many Japanese people are also frustrated with how rigid the immigration system is, but the people who make the rules are usually older and don't see the daily reality. It might help to talk to a free legal consultation service like the Tokyo Bar Association's immigration hotline. They can tell you if there's any way to make your current visa work or if switching companies is actually as bad as you think.
Look, you signed up for a system that's been like this for years. The tokutei ginou visa was never designed as a path to permanent residency, it's a labor program with strict conditions. That's the whole point of the exam requirement and the employer tie-in. If you wanted
Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.
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