You could work for a foreign company within Japan.

That would have been tolerable for me, but considering I have been experiencing difference in overall sociological expectations by just visiting there, I don't know if I would have been truly happy if I were in that situation. I wasn't exactly "fit to their spec" back when I was living in Japan at young age, either.

I've worked there. It definitely did a lot of damage to my psyche.

Even if you work for a foreign company, the way personal relationships work is very different from the states. That had taken me a decade to realize.

I'm glad you didn't make the same mistake I did.

And that somewhat aligns with my experience; perhaps the way personal relationships work probably more about where the company is located rather than who owns it.

For what it worth, I work for a wholly owned subsidiary of Japanese company in the States and I'm doing very well :-)