How do you respond to the “what was your previous salary?” question for interviews in Japan?

I imagine people get the “well in Japan this is required” or “in Japan we do this” as a way to make you feel forced to answer. I imagine many companies are persistent but I’m sure there’s no reason for them to know this besides for them to low-ball you.

So, how do you go about answering this question? Do you give an honest answer or do you try to find a way to avoid answering. If you do, what’s your go to statement and reply to pushback if they’re insistent? Do you find that is just easier to be honest? How about the alternative question if how much do you want to be paid?
I’m curious if tech companies in Japan are persistent about this.
My current job here isn’t related so I feel like it’s a mute point for them to even know the salary unless it benefits me somehow.

Is there any real reason for them to know this before an offer here? (Socially or legally that’s specific to Japan?)

by DelicatePeriodCramps

36 comments
  1. If you are using a recruiter, never talk about compensation. This is their job.
    If you are applying directly and they ask you verbally. Either give them an amount or range you want. If they still press after that you can tell them.
    There is no real reason to know before. However, they can check it when you join the company so lying will get you nowhere.
    The government is doing everything for wage growth, but apparently not making this illegal.

  2. I just tell them. If they’re going to lowball me then I just won’t accept the offer. They’re even doing me a favor by outing themselves as a shitty company. Actually I had to submit scanned copies of my recent payslips and tax withholding slip during the interview process, and in the end got almost a 50% salary bump (7m -> 11m) when I was hired at my current company.

    I feel like on the whole balance, pushing back too hard on this is a net negative because the risk of you losing a job with a great company (like mine) is greater than the reward of squeezing an extra couple of yen out of a lowballing company.

  3. The only reason they want to know is so they can lowball you. If you’re not desperate for a job, you can just refuse to answer. If they keep pressing with ‘This is Japan’ or some other line, be firm and tell them that your previous compensation has nothing to do with the role you’re interviewing for. If you really need the job however, you can answer the question, but don’t forget to include bonuses, PTO and other benefits to get a higher salary bump.

  4. I’ve been on both sides of the interview table.

    Tell them to talk to your recruiter. You’re working with a recruiter, right? The recruiter is incentivized to get you as high a salary as possible, since they are paid in proportion to that. The recruiter is probably better at negotiating than you are.

  5. Just adding that although the recruiter is meant to help you get a higher salary, they probably are also quite conservative because they care a lot about the relationship with the employer…so they probably won’t push very hard.

  6. “I previously received (salary) however thanks to my experience gained in (relevant skills), I am expecting (new salary)”
    Something like this worked for me

  7. A lot of places won’t move forward without that info, so it’s up to you whether you want to pass on those places.

  8. This is one of those super annoying things. I like places that recently passed laws saying you have to list salary information with the job listing because nothing is more frustrating than finding a job you think you’d be perfect for, interviewing for it, they seem excited, they ask your compensation and you get a sort of weird look from them and the rejection letter is often in your e-mail before you get home.

    My typical response whenever contacted about a job, and I normally just outright ask during the 1st phone screening, “What’s the target compensation for this position.” They normally follow up with “well, it’s a range, what is your target compensation?” I normally follow up with “well, what’s the range and what non-cash compensation can you offer in case the compensation isn’t at my current level.” They normally follow up with “well, what’s your current level.”

    At that point I normally just tell them thanks but if they can’t give me an honest answer, and I remind them that I’ll know what their compensation structure by pay grade is since I manage people planning and budgets and need that information if I go to work for them, that I’m not interested in working for their organization.

  9. > Is there any real reason for them to know this before an offer here?

    It’s because they want to pay you as little as possible.

    Early in your career (or when switching from a lower paid career to a higher paid one), this can be a problem. It makes it more difficult to get paid what you are worth.

    So…don’t stay in jobs like that very long. 2-3 years. Learn as much as you can, add as much as you can to your resume. Then move. Ask for more money. Rinse and repeat until you are getting what you are actually worth.

  10. As a former hiring manager, when we interviewed candidates, the salary was generally already decided. The only time we factored the prior salary into the current one was either to bump it up for a really qualified candidate as a hiring incentive, or in some cases, candidates would be taking a pay cut to join our organization, and that would lead to follow on questions of, whether and why they are willing to take a pay cut to come here? And to ensure that if they were given an offer that they wouldn’t turn it down due to salary (because it would essentially restart the hiring process).

  11. Here is my previous salary, but one of my motivations for seeking a new job with upward movement and a better salary. I was too over qualified for my previous job and plateaued.

  12. Id ask them why is it relevant for them to know. Then ill ask them whats is the salary of my would be collegues and superiors to get an idea of what compensation looks like at the company.

    if they refuse to disclose their salaries, i dont see a need to disclose mine. of course it is used to give you just enough, but not more salary, so that youd take the offer. there is no strategic advantage for you to disclose it.

    If they refuse to hire you for the sole reason you dont tell them your salary, despite being the best candidate, they are morons, and you dont want to work with morons anyway in a company directed by lots of similar rules that absolutely must be followed, that makes no sense. Thats a company full of sheep and yes-sayers, that would be a totally soul devoureing work experience.

    Usually with recruiters, theyd know your old salary, but the hiring company would not, and then recruiters argue on your behalf for your new salary to make it as high as possible(since they get higher commission so you have mutual interest) but they dont tell the hiring company. Recruiters always tell you to NEVER disclose your salary to the hiring company in the interviews!

  13. I tell them. I also set their expectations on what I expect and let them know I’ll flat out reject lower offers.

    This is with years of experience though, if I was trying to break into another field *cough* yet another teacher getting into front end development *cough* I would be happy to get the experience and get out, even if the pay doesn’t match back home.

  14. Foreign tech companies don’t care – HR will ask to make sure you aren’t crazy but they have a range that is decided – but most foreign tech companies pay way more than Japanese companies (and foreign non-tech).

    In my interviews I never asked that question.

    Now I am usually clear about salary requirements to make sure they are not wasting my time.

  15. They ask you that so they can try and screw you out of your actual worth as an employee. If someone asks, I either ask them what their pay is first, or I list a little higher than what I actually make. That way your minimum they have to pay you is more than you actually make.

  16. In a direct hire sit, that usually won’t come up until later in the process. Earlier on I will tell them that I look at the overall comp and benefit situation because some companies do things differently than others and because I want to keep the door open. Later, I will tell them what I am looking for, not typically my salary or I will tell them a range and say it also depends on the total comp and benefit situation.

    With recruiters I ask the range up front because many product management jobs are waaaaay lower than what I make while others are fine. I also tell them what I would move for. Sometimes I am surprised and a role I expected to be middling is better than I thought.

  17. If you worked abroad, just be creative as long as it’s nothing out of usual range.

    If you currently work in Japan and want a ~20% increase in salary, “Current salary is X, but…”

    “…my current company have really good housing assistance and I expect Y% more to compensate for it”

    “…I found that most other companies are offering around Y for this position” (do some research first, of course)

    “…I’m due to a promotion that would make it Y next year” (lie)

    “…I’m purchasing a house and looking for 20% on top of current salary for better quality of life”

    If you want more than 20%, apply for another job that offers that amount already.

  18. If you are using a recruiter it is their job to negotiate so you can say the recruiter I am in contact with will negotiate.

    If you are interviewing on your own, I think it’s OK to say your current and your dead set expected salary.

    You could inflate your current salary a bit as they can only see your gensenchyousyuuhyo upon getting hired but there could be many other non money based compensation sources, like housing subsidy, employee pension plans, or even stock benefits that wouldn’t be reflected in the gensenchyousyuuhyo.

  19. As others have said, I generally try to get out front by first asking what the salary range is for the position. If it doesn’t fit what I’m looking for, I follow by asking if it will be possible to negotiate higher. If the answer is no, I tell them it wouldn’t be worth anyone’s time to pursue.

    In the past, I have been asked to provide copies of recent paystubs and tax withholdings as part of the interview process (usually at, or near, the final interview). I’ve always flatly refused and told them they don’t need that information until after I’ve accepted an offer. There have been cases where that refusal has ended the interview process, but I’ve also had experiences where the other side backed down and decided not to push the issue.

  20. It was insufficient for my daily needs and expenses and is one of the reasons for pursuing somewhere new. I am looking to receive X amount yearly/monthly.

  21. I had pretty decent benefits with my previous job, so I told them I made X amount of yen, some of it went to the company housing so I didn’t need to pay utilities and had such-and-such benefits. If your company offers similar benefits I’d be interested in negotiating (or something like that, but I usually ask the benefits at some point during the interview, or research it beforehand).

  22. If you don’t tell during interview, this can be interpreted in multiple ways:
    – You are earning very little
    – You are “testing” the company to see what they can deliver
    – You are uncooperative and shady
    – You don’t want to comply with “basic HR recruitment process” and seem entitled/problematic

    If you tell during the interview:
    – You may be rejected because your salary is too high and they can’t compete or afford to hire you
    – You will get a higher offer than current because they want to motivate you to join
    – They might offer you same or less/low-ball you
    – At the very least you’ll be transparent and they won’t have a reason to distrust you
    – They may offer a cheaper candidate if you are expensive

    I would rather share and, if salary is a problem, then move to the next job application.

    There are countless of companies that will outright reject you for being uncooperative, especially with Japanese HR.

    Companies CAN find out if you lied after you join them, so better not be that person.

  23. It’s to get an idea of how much they can hire you for.

    So if you were previously earning 30 Million, and if they only had a budget for 10, they’d probably reasonably expect you ‘d reject their offer.

  24. Tell the truth. There’s no upside to lying. If the role you are applying for pays significantly more than what you’re making now, make the case as to why you’re worth it.

  25. Just tell them, some companies don’t want to offer people changing jobs too much over their current pay. It’s a good way to filter shitty companies, really.

    Also don’t lie either, you’ll have to submit your 源泉徴収票 if you want the company to pay taxes for you and they’ll find out that you lied. Lying during your job interview is something that companies are allowed to cancel your contract without jumping through hoops.

  26. I, someone considered a “job hopper” have never been asked this by an employer.

    As for how much pay you want, well, I use to answer “in consideration of the local salary rate, I wish for….” but it seems that the better answer is to entrust the company salary guidelines.

  27. I’ll tell you my experience from this week.

    I’m changing to a new career and starting from the bottom.  I know I won’t earn much at the start and I’m ok with that.

    Anyway, at the interview on Tuesday, they asked me that question and I told them 360,000 a month (which was a mistake, should have been less).  They asked what I wanted and I said my wish was for 250,000 – 300,000.  This was higher that the job said.  I then said that I understand I won’t get that much and that’s ok because my pay will increase each year.

    Well I got the rejection letter today.  Reason being they couldn’t pay me my wish and didn’t think I could support my family (I can afford to not work for at least 3 years, but I didn’t say that because I didn’t think it was their business).  It was a very kind rejection letter that even came with a hand-written note saying how sorry they were.  I just wish they had have at least put it out there and let me decide if it was too low.  At least it wasn’t the standard “there were many good applicants but we found someone else, etc” bs you usually get.

    How could I have done better?  Given a lower desired wage?  Been more clear?  Not mentioned anything?  Lied?  Not sure yet.

    Hope you can find something useful in here.  Good luck.

  28. Most companies require you to submit your previous payslips or even yearly income statement, so there’s no point in lying.

  29. I was told by a recruiter once not to talk about salary and the final interviewer went ballistic. He really didn’t care a about the salary but needed to know the range because if it was too high then that would be out of the range for that job grade so he showed me the job grade salary ranges and told me to point at the range it was in. This satisfied him.

  30. I absolutely told them what I made because I was moving from a field I made a lot of money in to one I was brand new to (professionally, lots of private experience) and wanted them to know I’d have to take a pay cut if I went to them, so if they really wanted me, they’d compensate accordingly. Got 1 million/year more than I was honestly expecting.

  31. I applied for a job with Mitsui as an English translator/instructor back in 1987. I faced 6 interviewers in a “T” desk setup. When the lead dude asked me how much I expected I replied Yen500,000 monthly. He looked startled and told me that even the most senior person in that department did not make that much. I replied that I was in the wrong interview and thank you for your time and consideration…..then walked out. Great move on my part.

  32. In Japan, due to the current labor shortage, many job offers state that the salary will be higher than that of the previous job. If they’re going out of their way to ask, there’s a good chance they’re trying to keep their word, so be honest.

    From there, the negotiation begins as to how much the salary should be. In Japan, salaries have long been increased based on seniority, so salary negotiations are difficult. This method may seem strange to foreigners as there is no custom for this, but it is a common method in Japan.

    If you want to significantly increase your salary from your previous job, explain the reason and be aggressive in your negotiations. If it’s a decent company, they’ll probably agree.

    Furthermore, if your previous workplace was in Japan, you can estimate your previous salary based on the taxes you paid, so do not lie.

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