Question on landing a tech job in Japan

12 comments

1. This is a copy of your post for archive/search purposes.

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   **Question on landing a tech job in Japan**

   So I would like to work in Japan by next year. I have a computer science degree and about 1-2 years of experience as a full stack developer. I am currently studying Japanese daily so that my speaking and listening comprehension improve. My current goal is passing the N5 in a few months and then I’ll tackle the N4 exam. By next year, I plan on taking the N3. I hear some people land jobs without knowing any Japanese, but I am not sure if that is in tech or not.

   Is there anyone here who can share anything about their experience on landing a tech job in Japan. Did you need to reach a certain JLPT level before you were interviewed? I am turning 28 this year so I hope that is not considered too old for tech companies in Japan.

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2. 28 at the moment.

   Perhaps heartbreakingly, I just turned down a tech job in Japan with a Japan-based tech company. Roughly JLPT 4, so no business language ability.

   Whatever particular questions you may have, happy to help if I can.

3. The requirement is usually defined as ‘business level’, especially speaking, which didn’t relate to JLPT level that much. One who pass n1 with poor speaking skill is still hard to find a job. Unless some 外資系company, they have low requirement for Japanese level(maybe n4) as long as you are native speaker of English.

4. Check out Japan-Dev.com which lists a wide variety of tech jobs, many of which require no Japanese and are with companies that don’t adhere to undesired Japanese workplace culture norms.

5. They don’t need English speaking programmers. Most companies outsource to India, Ukraine,etc.

6. I landed a job in Japan at 31 however I have over 10 years of working experience and a degree. I did not need to have any kind of Japanese proficiency because of my seniority however those in junior to mid positions sometimes require business or at least conversational Japanese. If I were you, I would obviously continue studying Japanese however I would not make studying for the JLPT a priority and instead focus on getting promoted to a senior at work as fast as possible.

   Reason is this: you are more likely to become a senior at work in the next 2 years than you are to become fluent and proficient in business level Japanese. The JLPT is a good indicator of one’s reading ability, however it is not a good indicator of one’s speaking. Many people pass the JLPT and speak no better than a Japanese 4 year old. Furthermore studying to achieve JLPT N2 within the next 2 years while also working full time, whilst achievable, will be very miserable considering that I doubt you will be able to get the speaking practice in to justifiably say that you are proficient in speaking to a native like business level.

   So again, my advice is scrap the JLPT but continue to learn Japanese, but focus on advancing in your career as quickly as possible so your Japanese proficiency doesn’t play a role in getting a job.

7. I landed my first tech job in Japan 10 years ago, when I was 23 and fresh out of college.

   Japanese-wise I was around N3 but I did fail the test in December 2012 and my speaking was all-around terrible.

   Nowadays I work in a company that use 100% English, but there was no way the me from 10 years ago could get in my current company.

   > I am turning 28 this year so I hope that is not considered too old for tech companies in Japan.

   You are in luck then. If there is any country where 28 is not old, IT or otherwise, then Japan is definitely one of those.

8. Various Japanese tech companies are hiring English speaking software engineers with no Japanese language proficiency required. Look up Mercari, PayPay, Rakuten. I recently received an offer from one of these and I speak no Japanese whatsoever.

9. Tech has the most jobs to get in Japan without knowing Japanese (besides being an English teacher obviously). I would say I’m between N2 and N3 but my job doesn’t require Japanese.

   With your current level of Japanese I would expect you’ll only manage to get hired by fully English speaking teams, so don’t count on needing your Japanese for work. You might find jobs that require conversational Japanese (N3), which you should apply for even if you don’t feel confident enough.

   The number of jobs available to you specifically depends a lot on your tech stack. Japan Dev and LinkedIn are good resources to see what’s in demand in the Japanese market.

10. I’d love to live in Japan but terrified of the work culture.

11. Question similar to this post: If I’m in the same position as him, but can speak Japanese and have exchange experience in Sophia how much will it make it easier for me?

12. Honestly, with 1-2 years already under your belt you’re perfectly able to find software work in Japan now. I’d suggest holding out for a good offer, but there are good places that would take you as you already are.