Hello Moving to Japan Community!
I’m a Project Manager based out of Canada currently working at a fairly well known and large tech company. I have 5+ years of experience and have my PMP.
I do not speak yet Japanese and I have started to learn and I am focusing on professional/ business communication. I’m studying quite aggressively and plan to dedicate 3-4 hours a day to Nihongo.
I’m seeking to move to Tokyo in 2024. My wife is Japanese and has gotten a great job there, and I’ve also always wanted to live in Japan.
Can anyone provide any recommendations in terms of good places to look for a job in Project Management, preferably in English speaking (somewhat) environments?
I have heard of Rakuten, Mercari, and PayPay as options but I’m wondering if there are others as well? If it matters, I have specialized experience leading VR / AR projects for some top companies around the world.
I’m going to pursue a transfer at the Tokyo branch of the company I work for currently, but if that doesn’t work out, I would like to approach other companies as well.
I would greatly appreciate any support or suggestions you could offer.
Thank you!
1 comment
Intra-company transfer is deffo the best option.
Japan-dev.com and tokyodev.com are really good places to look, I think. Your luck will be hugely increased by learning Japanese, at least N2, ideally business-level – PM work requires a lot of cross-department work, much of which will be with people who work primarily/entirely in Japanese.
But with a spouse, you don’t have to convince someone to sponsor your visa and your experience means you’ve got a decent chance of getting work – it’d be also worth looking at remote work outside of Japan.