So, since I lost my job-- due to the "current economic situation"-- you would think I would have a lot of time to update my blog. While that may be true...I have a lot less interesting things to blog about...
So, because I was paying unemploymet insurance at my last job, I am eligible to receive money from the government for 90 days, or until I find a new job. In order to get it though, I have to jump through a bunch of hoops at the unemploymet office. But, since I am not working, I really have nothing better to do, so I'm not complaining. Especially since the Japanese unemployment office is, like everything else here, just a little bit ridiculous.
First off, the actual, official name of the Japanese government-run unemployment office is "Hello Work." And that is NOT a translation, they write it in katakana, but that is what the say in Japanese too, "harou waaku." Yes, it is like if the unemployment office in the US were called "Hola Trabajo."
Also, FYI, if you do not read, write, and speak Japanese, DO NOT lose your job in Japan. They have absolutely zero support in English. Not on the website, in the information booklets, or God-forbid from the people that work there. There weren't even English (or any other) subtitles on the information video everyone had to watch, even though they did have a Japanese sign-language interpreter in a little bubble on the bottom of the screen. This is especially important since recently many of the construction/factory workers who are immigrants from South America, Asia, etc. are losing there jobs, and though they may speak Japanese, the literacy rate isn't super high. Hey, maybe I can suggest to them that they need to get everything translated and should hire me to do it!
Anyway, a week after filing the paper work to declare unemployment, I had to attend a 2-hour long information session that included a poorly designed power-point, a ridiculous instructional video, and an explaination of the unemployment instruction book we received. Basically what I learned was that in order to get a new job, I first need to decide that I want a new job, and should then write a resume that lists my experiences, and then send that resume to apply to open positions that I am interested in. Oh, also if you tell a prospective employer that you are just planning to find a husband and quit your job to be a housewife as soon as you possibly can, you may have a difficult time getting hired.
Also, in order to receive the unemployment benefits you must prove that, yes, you are still unemployed and that you are actively looking for work. The latter can be shown by doing things like attending a resume writting session, job seminar, applying to a position through the Hello Work system, going to a job interview, etc. Things like looking at a newspaper or the internet to find a job do not count. (you need to do at least 2 things per month) Well, I only apply to jobs on the internet...so I was a bit panicked. However, when I asked the presenter about it afterwards and explained that I had already applied to some jobs online but was not contacted for an interview, he assured me that as long as you apply and don't literally just "look" at internet job listings that is fine...so really no actual proof is needed other than me writing down "I applied for xxx job on xxx date." In other words, you would have to be a complete idiot to not write down that you applied for a job even if you did only look at the internet, and in that case you probably are not going to be hired anytime soon so you really do need that unemployment money.
Also, if you do work at all while you are receiving unemployment you MUST declare how much and when, because you can not receive the daily allowance for that day. And you MUST NOT fail to declare ANY work you do or misrepresent how much you earned because, "everything you do is tracked by the Hello Work computers and if you write down anything false, it will be easily found out." Yeah...those all- powerful, all-knowing computers are gonna get me...unless....I get paid in...C-A-S-H!
