On Mon, 13 Aug 2001 Jujubeann@aol.com wrote:

> And I do know this. Foreigner might have a *Very very very* hard time getting
> work, if any or into seiyuu school. I think this is for all foreingers,
> including other Asian (but I'm not sure)
>
> Why? Someone at Otakon this year, asked Midorikawa Hikaru-san about Foreigner
> becoming seiyuu in Japan. Midorikawa-san said it's very hard to become a
> seiyuu first of all. Second, there is no foreigners in this industry at all!
> There are some in the anime world working behind the scense doing backstage
> work and such. But no seiyuuing and it would be very hard for them to break
> into this business. He also said that many "can't not make a living on
> seiyuuing alone...only few make it big"

The only jobs a foreigner stands a decent chance of landing in Japan
are those which cannot be done by Japanese (ie, English Teacher), or
those for which demand is so great that Japanese alone cannot fill
the need (ie, many IT positions)  Obviously, Japanese can do seiyuu
work very well, and for every seiyuu position there are at least a
hundred people willing to fill it.  Also, with the very rare
exceptions of established sports stars and entertainers, you need
a college degree to work in Japan (unless you are married to or are
the child of a Japanese citizen...hmm...maybe marrying a Japanese seiyuu
would be the way to go...)

Your best chance is probably to employ the "Sukiyaki Strategy".
Do you own anime, put it on the web, let it swirl around Japan,
and if it's good enough, the stars are all in the proper alignment,
and the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, maybe you can become
the Toren Smith of the seiyuu world.

In other words, you're going to have to make yourself famous _before_
becoming a seiyuu in Japan.  Then you can start your own gaijin
seiyuu school, and use your newfound influence to open the doors to
the outside world.

  - Joe