Tim Stocks of Wanganui has been working in Japan for a marketing
research company for more than three years now. His work covers a
variety of tasks including client relations, sales, online services,
office management, research and analysis, and translation/editing for
major foreign companies based in Japan, especially in the finance
industry. Tim lives and works in the Greater Tokyo area with a
population of about 35 million. So how did a boy from a town with a population of 42,000 come to live in one of the largest and busiest cities in the world?
Tim's first encounter with Japanese was in his second year at Wanganui Intermediate School. It was here that he began an eight week beginner's course.
"I liked the look of the katakana and hiragana characters (very mysterious) and how the Japanese teacher dressed in a kimono. Also, I had been interested in Maori language and culture at the time, and Japanese sounded similar."
Tim went on to study Japanese at Wanganui High School, gaining School Cert Japanese (equivalent to NCEA level 1) in year 10. He was able to visit Japan twice in his senior school years with the encouragement of his teacher, and it was then that his love for Japan and the people was cemented.
During his years at university and International Pacific College, Tim continued studying Japanese (he had completed a second year paper while still in year 13!) and focused on business. While a student, he worked indirectly for the company he is now employed with as a rewriter/translator. When he finished his studies, he asked the company if he could do an internship at their offices in Japan. They agreed and offered Tim a permanent job after only a couple of days.
Tim also made several visits to Japan through scholarships and internship awards.
Tim advises that having additional skills, such as in website development, IT, design, finance, or law are helpful to finding work in Japan.
"Japanese language is the communication tool needed to work and live with the Japanese in Japan, not a career in itself."
And on living in Japan…
"I have been adjusting for more than half of my life, so Japan is very familiar to me now, but I always still have a lot to learn. Only problem is that I have adjusted to the point where I would find it difficult to live anywhere else for too long."
"I think Tokyo is one of the best cities in the world ... there is so much to do. Loving Japan. Sorry NZ. I am having too much fun."
profiled by Julie Gordon