Hello, I live in Japan and I would say (From past experience) it would be hard to impossible for you to get a job at an auction house, regardless of the tight job market, it would be hard under any circumstances. I recommend you try to get a job at a car exporter - these jobs too are in short supply, but if you get a list of used car exporters and send them a job application I think the cahnces of you getting a job are good. The job you get of course may not be what you expect or want !
Good luck.