Finding an Information Technology (IT) Job in Japan
Working in Japan as a software developer is very lucrative for a foreigner. To know why, you can read the article explaining why Japan is a great place for IT professionals. So, if you are looking forward to working in Japan, let us discuss how to find a job as a software engineer or in other areas of the IT domain in Japan.
Exploring the Land of the Rising Sun by Working There
This article is about finding a tech, specifically an IT job in Japan, including software developers and other information technology jobs. However, let me start with my story about my career and how I ended up in Japan as an Information Technology professional.
While growing up, I never had any practical experience or exposure to Japan, except for the occasional pictures of Japanese fans, Kimono-clad ladies, Japanese dolls, and samurai warriors with eye-catching swords and fighting poses.
On one side are those gorgeous ladies and dolls in Kimono; on the other, those Samurai warriors – mighty, formidable, confident but still looking peaceful and bowing respectfully.
My First Experience with Japan as an IT Professional
Everything I heard always used to raise my curiosity. In fact, things sounded like fairy tales, something from the other world, and I always wanted to go to Japan to see it all.
Destiny must have meant it, or was it my passion that paved the way – I ended up coming to Japan for a two-month information technology project for an SAP implementation.
Japan was not all that the stories told me about it. Yes, it differed from those stories and what I had seen or experienced.
And it was beautiful. I was a bit sad that this would end in just two months, mainly because I didn’t have Japanese language skills. But I wanted to stay for long, absorb as much as possible, experience it as much as possible, and live it.
Most of us wish to travel to other countries, experience different cultures, and learn about new things and people. However, we generally end up seeing what other tourists see, experiencing a life that other tourists experience, and not the life of a local person, the life of that place or country.
Knowing anything new only comes by living it – at least for a considerable period, which is a relative term.
During those two months, I met many other foreigners. Many of those had similar feelings that I had. They either wanted to come back or wanted to stay longer.
There are others who have not visited Japan but might have a similar curiosity to what I had. This article is for all such people who wish to experience Japan and live it for some part of their lives.
Before we move forward in that direction, let me share the other twist in my story. My two-month project ended over fifteen years ago, and I am still in Japan. And, it all happened because of passion, making that passion the driver to find ways.
(While reading this article, you may like to check some of the interviews of foreign IT professionals in Japan.)
Software Jobs for Foreigners in Japan
A very common question in the air is, “How can I find a job in Japan?”. And for us techie people, the question is, “How do I get an IT/software developer’s job in Japan?”. Yes, it is a very natural question for someone curious about Japan and who wishes to experience life here.
Of course, one of the initial questions you will face is about the potential of earning, and for that, you may like to read the article about the average salaries for software engineers in Japan.
After that, the next question follows: “Can I get a job in Japan without knowing the Japanese language?” Let’s take a walk to talk about these questions.
Among developed countries, Japan has one of the lowest unemployment rates. As per the Japanese government’s figures for May 2022, job vacancies in Tokyo exceeded the number of job seekers by 44% in May 2022. During that month, the job-openings-to-applicants ratio was 1.44 jobs for every job seeker in Tokyo, 1.18 in Osaka, and 1.24 nationwide.
However, the ratio gets far worse regarding job openings for bilinguals with Japanese and English-speaking proficiency, making hiring in Japan challenging.
(You can also read about the comparison of Osaka Vs. Tokyo)
The above facts show many job opportunities for talent who can speak Japanese and English. And this situation is getting better for job seekers, though not for the country, because of the fast aging and declining population.
The statistics are equally applicable to information technology jobs as companies need more software developers than are available in Japan.
Knowledge of the Japanese language improves the chances of finding a job drastically. However, getting a job without knowing Japanese is not so difficult in the job market. Remember that word passion and gunning for the objective.
Finding an Information Technology (IT) Job in Japan
While most information technology jobs in Japan require Japanese language skills, that obstacle can be easily overcome with niche IT skills like Cloud Computing, Data Science, Data Engineering, Automation, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, and Deep Learning.
However, many Japanese companies are opening up for foreigners without Japanese language proficiency.
In addition, there are recruitment companies focused on candidates who speak English, whether along with Japanese or even without the Japanese language, which can be an excellent option for finding the right job. There are also dedicated Japan-focused job boards as another good option.
What if My IT skills are Not Very Niche?
Well, the good news is that not having very niche IT skills does not close the doors. The two reasons for that are as follows:
- As mentioned above, the overall demand-supply gap in the talent pool makes recruiting challenging in Japan, making many employers open up to welcome IT professionals from abroad.
- Many small and medium-scale progressive companies and startups in Japan wish to have more diversity by employing English-speaking candidates to help them compete globally to fulfill their vision for expansion outside Japan.
- COVID has changed many things – some for the bad and some for the good. One of the good side effects is that companies have become more flexible, and some companies are even opening up remote jobs.
Obstacles to Finding an IT Job in Japan from Abroad
Though, in general, it is always more challenging to find a job in any other country without being there, in Japan, it has been more difficult than in some English-speaking countries like the USA, the UK, Australia, etc. Some of the reasons are as follows:
1. Face-to-face meetings have traditionally been preferred in Japan
Face-to-face meetings have been an integral part of the Japanese work culture. Japanese people would opt for a physical meeting, even for a short discussion, where a telephone call can serve the purpose.
Of course, things have changed post-COVID outbreak, but the roots do not go away so easily — the same with job interviews. Hiring an employee is a major decision, and it has been difficult for Japanese companies to select or reject a candidate without meeting them.
2. Language barrier
Even for bilingual Japanese, it is always easier to communicate face-to-face with an English speaker rather than over the phone, especially with accent differences.
3. Dependency on recruitment agencies
Traditionally, large Japanese corporations have been following the Shūkatsu system for employment. This is about hiring employees from universities well before they graduate.
This Shūkatsu system is also called ‘aotagai‘, meaning “buying rice before it is harvested.”
Companies hire these students, train them, and then they would stay with the company until their retirement. Still, this system has not disappeared from the Japanese mega-corporations but has changed significantly over time.
When it comes to hiring from the market, both Japanese companies and the Japanese entities of foreign multinationals depend heavily on recruitment agencies. And, when it comes to recruitment companies, they prefer candidates already in Japan.
How to get an IT job in Japan from abroad?
1. Recruitment Agencies
Recruitment agencies are always an option you should not ignore, even if the chances of success may not be great if you are not in Japan.
The suggestion is to go for some of the large and some mid-sized ones. The pros and cons are that the large ones would have a more extensive clientele list, but you may not get the desired focus. On the other hand, the mid-sized agencies would have a relatively smaller client base, but you can assume more focus on your profile.
Some of the large recruitment companies for bilingual talent or even monolingual English-speaking talent, with a major focus on information technology recruitment, are as follows:
On the other hand, some of the mid-sized, fast-growing, and IT recruitment-focused companies are as follows:
2. Job Boards for Wider Reach
While recruitment companies work with a set number of clients, job boards like EJable tend to have a wider reach. Many general job boards in Japan are not specific to information technology only, such as DaiJob, CareerCross, Jobs in Japan, etc.
On the other hand, job boards like EJable.com are built to focus on tech recruitment in Japan (bilinguals as well as only English speaking) and all kinds of Japanese-speaking bilingual jobs worldwide. Some other good IT-focused job boards and other resources are Tokyo Dev, HN Tokyo on Slack, AngelList, etc.
LinkedIn has been slow in catching up in Japan, but as of mid-2022, it has 2.6 million registered users in Japan, and by August 2023, the number of registered LinkedIn users grew to 3.1 million. It’s very simple to validate these figures if you subscribe to LinkedIn.
However, the important point is that any company that hires English-speaking talent would be present on LinkedIn. The only challenge is that applying directly to the hiring company is often ineffective.
But why? The reason is the large number of incoming applications and the high possibility of them missing applications because of bandwidth. However, the dependency on LinkedIn is only effective by using LinkedIn effectively.
Other Ways to Come to Japan and then Find an IT Job
You may not succeed in getting a software developer or other information technology job while you are not in Japan. However, if a passion is combined with a vision, there are always ways to achieve things.
One proven way is to get into Japan with an unrelated job. There are jobs in Japan that do not require much Japanese language skills. Serve for some time while you improve your understanding of Japan, Japanese culture, and possibly the Japanese language, and then switch to an IT job.
Some of the jobs you can get in Japan without knowing the Japanese language are in teaching – especially English teaching. A few examples are as follows:
Teaching in International Schools
The number of international schools is continuously growing in Japan. One reason is the growing population of expats, and another is that many Japanese wish to have their kids study in English medium schools. All such schools need native or near-native English speakers as teachers.
Teaching English
Teaching English is an easy way to make your Japan entry. Being a teacher of native Japanese also allows you to learn or improve Japanese language skills.
Once you are in Japan, it is much easier to switch careers. The Japanese government has a good demand for English teachers for elementary and high schools. The Japanese Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) hires the ALTs (Assistant Language Teachers) for this purpose. There are also many opportunities for English Eikaiwa (English conversation) teachers all across Japan. The requirement is native-level English for these positions.
As the third-largest economy, Japan has always been on the world stage. However, the economy also had a very high dependency on local consumption.
However, those dynamics are changing, and companies have more international ambitions in some neglected areas, making them more open to embracing diversity. Therefore, that’s an opportunity for people interested in Japan and professionals who wish to add more dimension and diversity to their professional and personal profiles.
We are not covering topics like visas for Japan, but you can check about various Japanese visas on this site.
Finding a Job while You are Already in Japan
Even if you are in Japan and looking for another information technology job, all the above ways are applicable, except that you will not have to think about ways to enter Japan.
However, it’s not just about applying for jobs. Increasing your network and connections is essential even if you are not looking for a job change today. Networking is one of the most important ways to learn about career opportunities. Some of the networking opportunities in Japan are as follows:
- Meetup Tokyo list– Information Technology
- Meetup Tokyo list – Developers
- Meetup Dev Japan
- Meetup – Tokyo Tech
- Doorkeeper
- Hacker’s News on Doorkeeper
- You can find more meetups and tech communities here
Conclusion
Finding a software developer job is much easier in Japan than in many other domains because of a large gap in demand and Supply. Moreover, it’s not just about finding a job as a software engineer, but the opportunities to expand the learning horizons and the future prospects of career growth make it an excellent choice to put in some focused effort to find a tech job in Japan,
Japan is different from many other countries with its unique culture, a modern country that also likes to keep its traditions alive. It has one of the world’s best quality standards with a very safe society. The changing dynamics of society, economy, and outlook present many opportunities for foreigners to experience a different social and work culture, which helps personal and career growth.
Japan also has a fast declining and aging population and a huge demand-supply gap for tech job opportunities and available talent.
And the issue of aging and declining population is getting worse by the day, making this country an ideal destination for tech careers. We do hope that this guide will be helpful to you in finding your next IT job in Japan.
A long-term ex-pat in Japan, Himanshu comes with an IT background in SAP consulting, IT Business Development, and then running the country operations of an IT consulting multinational. Himanshu is the co-founder and Managing Director of ReachExt K.K. and EJable.com. He is also an Advisory Board Member of a Silicon Valley AI/IoT startup.
