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How to find a job in Japan

A complete guide to finding work in Japan as a foreigner: which visa you need, where to look, the Japanese you need, the documents Japanese employers expect, how interviews work and how long it all realistically takes — from abroad, as a student in Japan or when you already work here. Based on the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Immigration Services Agency.

Step-by-step plan

Job sites and agencies

Checked against the websites of the Immigration Services Agency and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on October 7, 2026 · Work visas · Your employment contract

A realistic job search, active3–6 months

Japanese usually expected for office jobs at Japanese companiesN2+

Average starting salary of a university graduate a month, 2025¥262,300

To keep job hunting after graduating from a Japanese university or vocational school1 year

In short

Finding a job in Japan in six lines

  • Visa first, then the job. You cannot just come to Japan and start working: the work must fit your status of residence. Decide early which field you will work in and which visa you can realistically get.
  • Japanese is the key. Exceptions are mostly IT and rare specialists. Most office jobs expect N2 or higher; service and factory jobs often N4–N3.
  • Many applications are normal. Lots of rejections at the start are typical of the Japanese market, not a reason to give up.
  • You don’t pay the agency. As a rule, by law a recruitment agency may not charge the job seeker — the company pays it.
  • Studying in Japan helps. A language school, vocational school or university gives you time to learn Japanese and go to interviews in person.
  • Companies often train you from scratch. Expect your first year to be “learn while you work” — more on your employment contract.

Your situation

Where to start, depending on where you are

The route to a job depends on where you are now and which status you hold.

You are abroad

IT specialists and engineers with a degree, future Specified Skilled Workers who have passed their tests, and language teachers can find work without coming first. The company applies for your Certificate of Eligibility. Finding a job from abroad.

You are a student in Japan

Start 6–12 months before graduating. With an offer you change to a work status without leaving Japan; if you have not found a job in time, there is a job-hunting status if you qualify. What students should do · Shūkatsu.

You already work here

Better to find the new job before you quit. Check that it fits your status, and notify immigration within 14 days. Changing jobs.

You are a spouse or dependent

On the Dependent status (家族滞在) you may work up to 28 hours a week with permission; full-time work needs a work status of your own. Spouses of Japanese nationals have no limits. Dependent visa.

Visa

Which visa you need to work

The employer picks the status that fits your position, and immigration checks that the job, your education and your experience match. All statuses: work visas.

Status For whom Main condition
Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務) IT, engineering, office work, marketing, translators, language teachers A relevant degree or a Japanese vocational school (専門学校) diploma, or 10 years of experience; for translators and language teachers, 3 years of experience or any degree. More
Specified Skilled Worker (特定技能) Nursing care, construction, hotels, manufacturing and other fields A skills test for the field and Japanese at JLPT N4 or JFT-Basic level; no degree needed. More
Highly Skilled Professional (高度専門職) Experienced specialists with high pay Points on the official table. More
Intra-company Transferee (企業内転勤) Staff of international companies A year of work at the company’s office abroad. More

Important: your degree does not have to match the job perfectly, but there must be a logical link: a humanities graduate cannot get an engineer’s visa without any technical subjects in the degree. For IT jobs, the Japanese IT exams FE or AP can replace the degree.

The visa is not arranged by an agency, nor by you alone: to bring you in, the company applies for a Certificate of Eligibility (how it works); if you are already in Japan, you apply for a change of status with the company’s documents.

Step by step

How to get a job in Japan: 8 steps

Plan for 3–6 months of active searching; students should start 6–12 months before graduating — once the visa runs out, it is too late.

  1. Choose your fieldWork out how your degree and experience match the job. “Any job at all” lowers your chances. Put into words what value you bring to a Japanese employer.
  2. Improve your JapaneseFor IT and rare specialists English can be enough. In the humanities, aim for N2. For Specified Skilled Worker, N4 and the skills test for your field are enough.
  3. Write your resumeIn Japanese (履歴書, rirekisho), and in English for international companies. Add a career history document (職務経歴書, shokumu keirekisho). How to write a Japanese resume.
  4. Watch the job adsJob sites in English and Japanese, LinkedIn, Hello Work, recruitment agencies, professional communities — especially for niche jobs. Job sites and agencies.
  5. Apply widelySometimes 100 applications bring only 1–2 interview invitations. Don’t give up after the first rejections.
  6. Prepare for interviewsLearn about the company culture and the interview stages. Prepare answers about your strengths and why you want to work in Japan. Job interviews in Japan.
  7. Contract and visaCheck the written terms (employment contract). If you are abroad, the employer applies for your Certificate of Eligibility and you get the visa at the Japanese embassy or consulate; if you are in Japan, you apply for a change of status.
  8. Moving and settling inThe residence card (在留カード, zairyū kādo) is issued at major airports on arrival; register your address at the city office within 14 days. Then housing, insurance, a bank account: your first 30 days.

What to prepare before you start

  • A JLPT (or BJT) certificate — many jobs and some visas want the paper, not “conversational level”.
  • Your degree and transcript, with translations — they are used to check that your education fits the job.
  • A Japanese resume (履歴書) and career history document (職務経歴書), an English resume, a resume photo.
  • A portfolio or links to projects — for IT, design and translation.
  • A one-minute self-introduction and an answer to “why Japan, and why this company”.

Where to look

Where to look for a job

Sign up with 3–4 channels at once — each has its own pool of jobs.

English-language job sites

Boards for bilingual candidates and English speakers, some with “no Japanese required” and “apply from abroad” filters. The list.

Recruitment agencies

They pass your resume to client companies and arrange interviews. The employer pays them; you don’t. Check the license in the Ministry database.

LinkedIn

An international professional network: profile, jobs, and recruiters of Japanese and international companies who search for candidates. You can keep your profile in English.

Hello Work

The public employment service: free; centers for foreigners in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka with counseling and job matching. More.

Your school and university

Career centers, job boards and on-campus company sessions; Hello Work also runs international student corners.

Company websites

Many companies hire directly through the careers page of their own website — check the companies you really want to work for.

The Employment Service Centers for Foreigners (外国人雇用サービスセンター, gaikokujin koyō sābisu sentā) in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka are for international students and professionals. What the private sites say about themselves, which are free, how to check an agency and avoid scams: job sites and agencies.

Free for you. By law a recruitment agency may not charge the job seeker (Employment Security Act, Article 32-3), apart from a few narrow exceptions (certain performing, modeling, domestic and catering jobs, and high earners). If someone asks for money for a job, a “visa guarantee” or training — walk away.

Japanese

How much Japanese you need

IT and technology

N3 + English

In some international IT companies and many startups the working language is English.

  • Software development: N3 is often enough
  • Infrastructure and server operations: often English is enough
  • Data analysis and machine learning: English + N3
  • Product management, UI design: N2
  • Pay with experience: often ¥4–7 million a year, depending on the company
  • Certifications help: the Japanese IT exams (FE, AP) count for the visa too.

Service, corporations, traditional industries

Usually N2–N1

Traditional Japanese companies, banks, public corporations and customer service work in Japanese — documents and meetings too.

  • Hotel front desk, banks, insurance: N2
  • Translation and interpreting: N2 (CEFR B2) is the visa minimum; employers often want N1
  • Marketing for the Japanese market: N1
  • Law, accounting: N1
  • Management, public sector: N1 + the culture

From April 15, 2026, immigration requires CEFR B2 in the working language (for Japanese: JLPT N2) for language jobs on the Engineer/Specialist status. The rule applies to category 3 and 4 employers (not large companies) and to work where language is the main task: translation, customer service, a hotel front desk. Besides N2, a BJT score of 400 or more or a degree from a Japanese university or vocational school also counts. More about the visa.

English raises your chances a lot: many Japanese colleagues speak it only a little, and a bilingual employee is valuable. Where you can work without Japanese and how long it takes to reach N2: Japanese for work.

Documents

Your application documents

Japanese HR departments expect a strict format. Use the Ministry sample on the Hello Work website.

履歴書 rirekisho — the formal resume

A standard form with a photo and education and work history by year. The JIS sample was withdrawn in 2020; the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s sample (厚生労働省履歴書様式例, 2021) is recommended: it drops the spouse, dependents and commuting time fields, gender is optional, and the self-promotion box (自己PR) stays. Handwritten in black ink or printed.

職務経歴書 shokumu keirekisho — the career history document

Free format, usually 1–2 A4 pages (as Hello Work advises): projects, technologies, achievements with numbers. In IT, the stack and architecture decisions; in office jobs, business results. The rule: numbers and specifics instead of vague phrases.

志望動機 shibō dōki — the reason for applying

Part of the rirekisho or a separate text. Three elements: why Japan, why this company, what you will bring to the team. Japanese employers value sincere motivation and an understanding of the company’s values.

Resume tips

  • Format: a Japanese resume has a strict form — date of birth, photo, address, short entries for education and work. In the Ministry sample gender is optional, and there are no fields for spouse, dependents or commuting time.
  • Neat and concise: structure and a restrained tone are valued.
  • Cover letter: describe concrete projects and the benefit you will bring.

Field by field with translations, samples and common mistakes: Japanese resume.

Interviews

Interview stages and realistic timing

01. 書類選考 — document screening

HR reviews your rirekisho and career history. A decision within 1–2 weeks. How many pass depends on the job and your qualifications.

02. 一次面接 — first interview

Often online (Zoom, Google Meet). 30–60 minutes with HR or your future manager: experience, motivation. IT jobs may add a technical task.

03. 二次面接 — second interview

With the manager and the team: your projects in depth and how you will fit in. Often a case or technical discussion. 1–2 weeks between stages.

04. 最終面接 — final interview

With senior management, or the director in a small company. Often a formality to confirm the decision. 30–45 minutes, usually in the office.

05. 内定 — the job offer

A written offer (内定通知書) with the terms: salary, start date, probation. You usually have 1–2 weeks to answer. After you accept — the contract.

06. 入社 — your first day

1–3 months before the start the company helps with the change of status. After approval and arrival — induction training of 1–2 weeks.

Interviews and Japanese company culture

  • Politeness: in a Japanese-language interview use honorific language (敬語, keigo).
  • Dress code: a dark suit or restrained business clothes.
  • Punctuality: arrive 10–15 minutes early. Being late is not acceptable.
  • Overtime: in traditional companies it is part of the culture, but more and more firms work differently. Which overtime is legal: working hours.

Typical questions, how to talk about the visa and pay, the thank-you message after the interview: job interviews in Japan.

Who has it easier

Who finds work in Japan most easily

The pros and cons of working in Japan, and the fields where a foreigner has better chances.

Pros

Why Japan

  • A stable economy and good pay, especially in technology.
  • Safety and quality of life: low crime, excellent infrastructure.
  • A unique culture: polite service and deep traditions.
  • Career growth: large companies (especially in IT) train staff and promote from within.

Cons

What you will face

  • The language barrier: Japanese remains the main working language; with English only, the choice is much smaller.
  • A demanding corporate culture: long hours, strict hierarchy, overtime is common.
  • Strong competition: many fields are full of local specialists.
  • Visa paperwork: a work status takes bureaucracy and strict compliance with the rules.

IT specialists

Strong demand for developers, engineers and cybersecurity specialists. In international companies you can work in English only, with good pay and flexible hours.

Humanities and international profiles

HR, marketing, management, logistics, tourism and hotels, translation. Companies look for people with several languages who know their home regions. The condition: high Japanese (often N2) or solid international experience.

Artists, teachers, medical staff

An artist rarely gets a visa without a portfolio or an invitation. Professors come at a university’s invitation. A doctor needs the Japanese exam and license; without it, a real route is care work on the Specified Skilled Worker status. Jobs by profession.

If you are a student

Looking for work during and after your studies

Change of status

From a student visa to a work visa

With an offer before you finish school or university, you apply for a change of status of residence (在留資格変更) — to Engineer/Specialist, Specified Skilled Worker or another status — without leaving Japan.

  • For an April start, immigration asks you to apply between December 1 and the end of January.
  • Since December 1, 2025 some documents are no longer needed for graduates of Japanese universities, of top universities abroad (top 300 in two of three world rankings), and when the employer currently employs a former international student who changed to a work status and has already had a period of stay extended at that company.
  • Processing: 1–2 months (immigration’s standard processing time).
  • Fee on approval from October 1, 2026, by the period granted: 1 year ¥33,000 (online ¥27,000 + ¥330 settlement fee), 3 years ¥64,000 (online ¥56,000 + ¥550).

If you haven’t found a job yet

Designated Activities for job hunting

Graduates of Japanese universities, and of vocational schools with the 専門士 (senmonshi) title, can get a Designated Activities status (特定活動) to keep looking for work, with a recommendation from their school.

  • 6 months at first
  • One extension of another 6 months — up to 1 year in total; a second year is possible only through an approved local-government job-support program
  • Part-time work up to 28 hours a week with permission (資格外活動許可)
  • Apply after graduating, while your student status is still valid, with your graduation certificate and the school’s recommendation
  • Also for language-school graduates who hold a degree from a university abroad, if the school meets immigration’s conditions

About shūkatsu (就活): the Japanese model of graduate hiring on a fixed cycle — information sessions from March of the third year, aptitude tests such as SPI, group interviews; at the government’s request, selection starts on June 1 of the final year and formal offers (内定) are made from October 1. It applies only to graduates of Japanese universities who graduate in spring. Foreigners with work experience and language-school graduates are hired through ordinary channels. In detail: shūkatsu.

Why it is easier once you are in Japan

Many foreigners, especially outside IT, first come on a long-term student visa — through a language school, a vocational school or a university. That brings advantages:

  • Part-time work up to 28 hours a week — part-time work for students.
  • You can go to interviews in person and meet employers.
  • A change of status is easier for the employer than bringing you in from abroad.
  • You live in Japanese every day and learn the language faster.

Start early — 6–12 months before your program ends. Once your visa expires it is too late: you will have to leave or rush a change of status. All fees: immigration fees.

Example. You graduate in March 2027 and have an offer for April. You apply for the change of status on December 1, 2026 — with the standard 1–2 months, the decision comes roughly between January 1 and February 1. Apply on January 31 and you wait until the end of March, with no margin left. Applying online for 1 year costs ¥27,000 plus the ¥330 settlement fee.

After the offer

Your first year at work

The offer is not the finish line. The first months decide how fast you grow in the company.

  • The first months: expect on-the-job training. Mandatory training ordered by the company is working time, and it is paid.
  • Relationships with colleagues: take part in company events and lunches, and don’t always turn down after-work drinks (飲み会, nomikai).
  • Keep growing: the better your Japanese and your skills, the easier promotions and job changes become.
  • First-month paperwork: your My Number for the employer, a bank account for your salary, the form for tax deductions — your first 30 days; what is deducted from your pay — reading a payslip.

Deadlines

Deadlines, and what happens if you miss them

What When If you miss it
Change of status (在留資格変更, zairyū shikaku henkō) to start work in April December 1 to the end of January (immigration’s request) the decision may not come in time for your first day
Job-hunting status (特定活動, tokutei katsudō) while your student status is valid once it has expired you can no longer apply
Entry with a Certificate of Eligibility within 3 months of the CoE being issued the certificate expires — the company applies again
Address registration after arrival 14 days after moving in a violation; no address for more than 90 days is a ground for revocation
Notifying immigration of a new contract (work statuses) 14 days a fine of up to ¥200,000
Working in your status no more than 3 months without work without a good reason the status can be revoked

Linked to your visa.

  • The job must fit your status. Working outside your status without permission breaks the immigration law.
  • Students may work full time only after a change of status; until then, with part-time work permission, up to 28 hours a week during the term and up to 8 hours a day during the school’s long vacations.
  • Specified Skilled Worker: your employer is named in your status, so a new job needs a change of status, and you may not work there until it is approved.
  • Food service on the Specified Skilled Worker status: new applications are currently suspended (since April 13, 2026) — no new Certificates of Eligibility, and changes of status into the field are refused as a rule; people already working in the field can still change employer.

Work visas · Change of status · Certificate of Eligibility · Job hunting after graduation · Notifications

If you have a family

Spouse, children, parents: what changes

A dependent for tax and a dependent for health insurance are two different things with different income limits. All the rules for families: Family and dependents.

  • Your family comes after you. With a work status (except Specified Skilled Worker (i)) you can bring your spouse and children on the Dependent status (家族滞在, kazoku taizai) — Dependent visa.
  • Most language-school students cannot bring family on the Dependent status — university and vocational-school students can (and students of some university-preparatory courses).
  • A spouse on the Dependent status may work up to 28 hours a week with part-time work permission (資格外活動許可); full-time work needs a work status of their own.
  • A spouse of a Japanese national may do any kind of work.
  • Your family’s insurance and taxes depend on your income and your spouse’s — Family and dependents.

FAQ

Questions about finding a job in Japan

Can’t find your question? Write to us — a real person replies.

Ask us a question

Can a foreigner get a job in Japan without speaking Japanese?

Yes, mainly in IT, in some international companies and in English teaching. Service and factory jobs often expect N4 to N3, office jobs at Japanese companies N2 or higher, and traditional companies, banks, law and accounting often N1. English helps a lot, but Japanese widens your options more than anything else.

Plan for 3 to 6 months of active searching. Students should start 6 to 12 months before graduating, because a change of status takes 1 to 2 months and must be done while the student status is still valid. From abroad it usually takes longer.

It depends on the job. Office, IT, engineering, translation and language teaching jobs usually use the Engineer / Specialist in Humanities / International Services status. Care, construction, hotels and manufacturing use Specified Skilled Worker. The employer picks the status, and immigration checks that the job, your education and your experience match.

Graduates of Japanese universities, and of vocational schools with the senmonshi title, can change to a Designated Activities status for job hunting with their school’s recommendation: 6 months, extendable once, so up to 1 year. A second year is possible only through an approved local-government job-support program. Language-school graduates qualify only if they hold a degree from a university abroad and the school meets immigration’s conditions. Apply while your student status is still valid.

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the average starting salary of a university graduate in 2025 was ¥262,300 a month before deductions. Income tax, resident tax from the second year and social insurance are deducted from that; the take-home pay calculator shows the net amount.

No. Under the Employment Security Act an agency may not charge the job seeker; the employer pays. There are a few narrow exceptions: a small registration fee for certain performing, modeling, domestic and catering jobs, and fees for managers, specialists and certified skilled tradespeople earning over ¥7,000,000 a year. Anyone who asks you for money for a job or a visa is a warning sign.

Yes. With a job offer you apply for a change of status of residence at immigration. For an April start, immigration asks you to apply between December 1 and the end of January; processing takes 1 to 2 months. From October 1, 2026 the fee depends on the period granted, for example ¥33,000 for 1 year, or ¥27,000 plus a ¥330 settlement fee online.

Study → Find a job → Work → Taxes → PR or leave

From student to working in Japan — and where you are on the way

  1. Studylanguage school · part-time up to 28 h a week
  2. Find a jobresume, interviews, shūkatsuYou are here
  3. Workcontract, pay, your first 30 days
  4. Taxestaxes, insurance and pension
  5. PR or leavea clean record for PR — or the pension refund

Sources

Where this information comes from

Rates, limits and deadlines on this page were checked against the official websites of the Immigration Services Agency, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Hello Work and the Cabinet Secretariat on October 7, 2026. Amounts are in Japanese yen. When a rule changes we update the page and the date above.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Immigration decides your status of residence. Private job sites are described by their own pages — check their terms on the site. For a complex case, talk to an immigration lawyer or a licensed administrative scrivener (行政書士, gyōsei shoshi).

A language school is a first step to a job in Japan

A school gives you a student visa, time to reach the Japanese employers expect, the right to work part-time with permission and interviews in person. Our help choosing a school and preparing the visa documents is free — the school pays us, not you.

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