Federal Felony + Visa = Impossible?

[superfallingstar]

I was convicted of a white-collar federal felony several years ago and served 5 months in a hardly-any-security federal prison camp in the US. Going to Japan to work has always been an idea in my head even before I did the stupid mistake that lead me down that previous path and I'm wondering if my record now completely takes me out of the running for any chance of seeing this turn to reality.

I've read that its possible for me to gain a Visa if I just don't tell the Japanese government about what happened on their forms, but I've seen that many major English schools that recruit in the US (Aeon, Nova, etc.) require background checks before they commit to hiring you. Also, the thought of lying on a government form just gives me the willies. (I obviously was not a very good criminal.) Since my crime was non-violent, non-drug and non-prostitution related and I served less than a year of imprisonment do any of you think that trying to explain myself to any of the big companies would be worth my while or should I try to seek out alternative ways of getting out there?

Or, should I just consider it a lost cause and focus on things in the US?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[imlost]

If you have a federal criminal record and have been in prison, I would forget about it.

Read this thread for more:
http://www.gaijinpot.com/bb/showthread.php?t=19026

[superfallingstar]

Thanks imlost, I actually read that thread before I posted this.

I forgot to mention that I'm also confused as to where I stand in regards to this:
http://www.mofa.go.jp/j_info/visit/visa/10.html#10
X. Criteria of Visa Issuance
d) The applicant shall not fall under any of the items of Article 5, Paragraph1 of the Act.

http://www.moj.go.jp/ENGLISH/information/icrr-03.html
The Immigration Control & Refugee Act (what's referred as "the Act" above):
Article 5.
(4) A person who has been convicted of a violation of any law or regulation of Japan, or of any other country, and has been sentenced to imprisonment with or without labor for 1 year or more, or to an equivalent penalty except for those convicted of a political offense.

With that in mind, I technically don't apply because although I was convicted, I only got sentenced 5 months. I don't suppose there are any lawyers in here who could shed some light as to whether they'll get this technical (and allow me through) or will shut me out completely because I have a conviction?

[ezra]

You have two choices here, First if you put down that you have any criminal offences whether it's minor or major,You will not get a visa.

Second you don't have to put down any of your offences if you apply for the visa in Japan.Immigration has NO WAY to check your background from another country nor do they have the authority to do so.

The police not immigration can only request any past offences from your home country, if and only when you have committed a major crime in Japan and even then it's very hard because of the red tape.

The USA visa section at the US Embassy in Tokyo can't even do a criminal records check on a American citizen and this is the US government.

You can apply to Nova, Geos or any other language school in Japan and not have to worry about the background checks.

[superfallingstar]

Thanks for helping clear that up, ezra. I was hoping that being honest on the application and the fact that I fell between the two requirements stated previously would be all right. Now I see that it doesn't matter with the felony.