Hey!
Does anyone work in the city / urban / transport planning industry in Japan, or is otherwise familiar with it, and could provide any insights or signposts?
It’s not exactly a niche field, however I’ve struggled to find much information on it. It’s similar enough to engineering that it gets broadly categorised under that umbrella, but in my country the transport engineering and transport planning professions are distinct. Are they broadly the same profession in Japan? What are the typical job titles in this industry, e.g. Planner / Engineer / Specialist / Other? Seems quite pedantic to ask this but at this stage I really don’t know where to start looking!
For context, I currently work in this field in my home country, and I would be interested in perhaps moving to Japan in a few years to work in the same industry. I would like to learn more about the industry in Japan and to identify opportunities, but this has proven difficult.
Any information at all would be appreciated, but some of the following in particular would be of interest:
+ What are the common themes of projects in Japan / what are the hot topics in Japanese planning (or even beyond, in the EA and SEA region)? Ageing population, smart cities, increasing densification, decarbonisation, etc?
+ Typically, at what companies / type of employer are foreigners in the planning profession most likely to be hired? Consultancies? Non-Japanese companies? Overseas development organisations?
+ Where would you suggest I find these employment opportunities, for both English speaking and Japanese speaking roles?
+ Is being hired with 3-5 years of experience in the industry outside of Japan realistic, generally speaking?
+ Is the market competitive, or stagnant? Is the compensation package for planners good, or not great?
Thanks so much. I’m hesitant to post this at all as I look quite clueless, but it’s been a struggle finding anything relevant on my own. If anyone has any insights I’d love to hear them!
by PurpleImpala_