I like that FOURTY THREE people are currently reading this topic. Well, 43 people, I am going frigging insane at the prospect of being shut out. Any suggestions for what type of job I should try to get when academia doesn't work out? I'm thinking some sort of businessy thing maybe. Or do I need an MBA for that?
I disagree. While you should decline offers from places that you will not reasonably accept, do not decline all non first choices until you visit. You may find that the person you want to work with is intolerable, or that you don't like the environment, or a host of other things.
Perhaps I misunderstood, but I can assure you that very few philosophy departments in the English speaking world (by ratio) study Asian philosophy. In the departments that do have someone working on the topic, their numbers are few. In religion depts, I think it's common though.