Working in a unique country like Japan adds different dimensions not only to the professional profile but can also enrich one personally. Modernity with rich traditions still at its core, high-quality standards, the use of technology in daily life, 24-hour convenience, unparalleled safety, and people who can go an extra mile or two to extend help even to strangers—this all becomes a package worth experiencing.

Even with a largely monolingual society, Japan can offer a number of job opportunities to foreigners.

There are always two types of opportunities, one with more numbers and the other with niche skills. The former still has a smaller demand-supply gap and is, hence, difficult.

First of all, you need to see where you fit in information technology. If you are into inch technologies, i.e., AI and machine learning, RPA, cloud (especially AWS always has more demand), NLP, Data Science, etc., then it’s still more comfortable, even if you are not in Japan.

If you are into generic technologies, such as Java, you will have to know the Japanese language. Learning the Japanese language is crucial to getting a job here. However, companies tend to relax the language criteria if you have some niche skills.

So the initial suggestions would be as follows:

  1. Work on your skill-set
  2. If you do not know Japanese, then try to learn - at least speaking.

The next step would be to start applying. Here, it would help if you tried the Japan-based recruitment agencies ****and the end clients.

Recruitment companies:

Apply to a mix of large ones like RGF in Tokyo, Robert Walters, etc., and the mid-sized, e.g., ReachExt K.K.

You will have more opportunities at the big ones (and more completion), and you will get more focus from the mid-sized ones; hence, the combination.

Direct client companies:

Here, you should target the foreign multinationals on the one hand and some Japanese multinationals who do not care much about the language. Some of the names of such Japanese companies are as follows:

You can find their job portals, search for them on LinkedIn, and apply directly.