LRW <deja@celticbear.com> wrote:

> But how about this: My wife is getting her degree in computer
> animation.
> (The idea of living in Japan right now is just a distant dream--when
> it becomes a closer goal, we'll of course be doing more industry
> focused searching, but until then, I'd like to hear your opinions.)
> 
> What are the chances that this 32 year old (will likely be a few years
> older by then) redhaired and freckled American woman ...

OK, which is she--a "girl" as in the title or a "woman" as in the text.
That's not a facetious comment, because it might govern your attitude.
("Your" = plural) 

> (I can see that as being either a big plus or a very big minus) with only
> little skill at spoken Japanese of getting a decent job in Japan? (Tokyo
> or otherwise?)

As an animator? Slim-to-none, unless she can somehow magic up some
influential contacts in the field before coming to Japan. I suspect
she's already far too old to start as an animator here (dunno about the
US). With such a specialized background, though, she might find work as
a rewriter, salvaging English translations done by native speakers of
Japanese or, if very lucky, actively helping authors write in English
for the overseas market. 

In which case, I suggest she finds some way of getting a visa that's
independent of yours, because there are restrictions imposed by a
Dependent visa (although I'm told it's pretty easy for a US national to
get permission to do part-time work on such a visa). Scroll down here:

<http://globalwarming.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/04.html#a>

> (I know, "decent" is a matter of opinion. Our unreachable dream is
> between her computer animation and my teaching English we might
> maintain a semblance of the very middle-class lifestyle we have.)

You had better make sure that this is something you both want to do,
before you commit yourselves. It can be a marriage-breaker, to have one
partner enjoying hir experience here while the other hates it.

Gotta go--someone has just rung to ask me to go and shit pins....

________________________________________________________________________
                   Louise Bremner (log at gol dot com)
   If you want a reply by e-mail, don't write to my Yahoo address!