The Go-to Resource for Jobs in Japan

This list was curated by Artem Krivosheev (LinkedIn). 

* * * Be sure to read this ultimate guide at BFF Tokyo, “How to Get a Job in Japan From Overseas,” where I list 7 different ways you can get a job in Japan! Also check out this article, “How to Find a Japanese Job When You Live Overseas” from GaijinPot! * * *

Table of Contents (updated: 12/2023)

  • Job Search Preparation
  • Jobs
  • Professional Communities / Business Organizations
  • English Language Media
  • Continuous Education
  • Japanese Language Classes
  • Volunteer Work

Check out the Online Resources page for very informative websites about Japan and its culture, including YouTube channels, podcasts, apps, and more!

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Job Search Preparation

Jobs

  • Active Connector. Active Connector provides jobs to people who are interested in working at Japanese startups.
  • Apex. Job search for executive positions.
  • Asean Career Fair with Japan-  Virtual career fair for those interested in working for a Japanese company. Register in advance to be able to attend. Past companies in attendance include Hitachi, Konami, Mitsubishi, and more!
  • Baitoru. Part time jobs for foreigners all around Japan. All positions’ descriptions are in Japanese.
  • Bakutyu. Supports non-Japanese in their job search.
  • Bizreach. Japanese analog of LinkedIn.
  • Career Cross. One of the biggest job search sites for multilinguals.
  • Career Fly. A career website for foreign women who would like to work in Japan/change a job.
  • CareerJet. Careerjet is a job board that gives job seekers access to a huge selection of jobs that are sourced from various internet sites.
  • CFN CareerForum.net- Interested in kick-starting your job search with a Japanese company? Check out this virtual career forum and connect to find your next job or internship! Participating companies include Bosch, Hitachi, Gateway, and more! In-person events are also held in Boston, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Kyoto, Shanghai, and Singapore.
  • Computer Futures. Computer Futures specialization is finding talent for tech companies that have offices in Japan.
  • Daijob. One of Japan’s premier job search sites for multilinguals.
  • doda. One of the biggest Japanese job change agencies.
  • eKatsu. E活 is a media platform for Japanese-English bilinguals.
  • Envision. A small recruitment company that is specializing in the HR industry.
  • Fidel Consulting. Jobs for IT professionals. 
  • GaijinPot. One of the biggest job boards in Japan for foreigners.
  • Go Overseas. Study, volunteer, teach, and intern in various countries, including Japan.
  • Guidable. Mostly blue collar jobs plus some English teaching positions.
  • Hays.  One of the largest foreign recruitment companies in Japan. Operates across the private sector, dealing in permanent positions, contract roles and temporary assignments in IT, marketing, sales, supply chain and many more other industries.
  • Hello Work for Foreigners. A governmental agency that helps finding a job for foreigners. Available positions can be checked online but you need to go to the Hello Work office to actually apply for it.
  • HirePlanner. Offers a job board and virtual career fairs.
  • HOSHIKAWA RECRUITING. An executive search firm for bilingual candidates with a focus on consumer goods, FMCG, retail, health care, and related markets since 2013.
  • Internship in Japan. The first Tokyo-based internship agency offering high class internships in Tokyo and all Japan and global career development programs.
  • Huxley. Job search for professionals working in the finance industry.
  • Indeed. An international jobs website offering both part time and full time positions in all kinds of positions.
  • Internship Japan. Their global mission is to facilitate and support international talent in Japan. Be sure to get into their LinkedIn group for up-to-date opportunities.
  • iSearch. iSearch specializes in recruiting Japanese/English bilingual staff, managers, and executives for the Automotive Engineering, Consumer Goods, Digital Marketing, Insurance, Manufacturing and Technology industries.
  • JAC. Japanese recruitment agency that is Japanese in its origins but very similar to the multinational companies.
  • Japan Careers Program. Japan Careers Program is the most comprehensive resource for starting or changing your career in Japan.
  • Japan Dev. Top global tech jobs in Japan.
  • Japanese Jobs- Japanese job board that allows you to hunt for jobs in Japan.
  • JETRO HR Portal– A portal of Japanese companies that are open to hiring non-Japanese highly-skilled professionals.
  • Jobs in Japan. A job website with mostly English teaching and engineering positions. 
  • Job Haku. Online and Offline career for international students studying at Japanese university. Held several times a year in both Tokyo and Osaka.
  • Job Rainbow. A job website for the LGBT community.
  • Klar. Specialized recruitment in IT and digital marketing.
  • Link Careers Japan. A foreign friendly, Japanese job change agency. A lot of English teacher positions are available, less in other industries.
  • Michael Page. A leading professional recruitment consultancy specialising in the recruitment of mid to senior positions on behalf of the world’s largest employers. Covers a wide range of industries.
  • Morgan McKinley. A smaller recruitment agency in size but just like the larger ones working across diverse selection of industries.
  • Mynavi. Mynavi is another big recruitment agency in Japan. Besides traditional “job change” it also provides services for foreign students and medical professionals.
  • Pasona. Opportunities in Japan and career consulting for foreigners. The company also helps international students studying at the Japanese universities to find a job.
  • Paul Roberts. Tech jobs in Tokyo.
  • Peloton. A technology-focused recruitment firm. Mostly works with startups in Japan.
  • Randstad. Randstad is the global leader in the HR services industry, with 136 offices in Japan alone. Randstad works with professionals across all industry sectors, connecting job-seekers both in Japan and abroad with great roles in Tokyo and nationwide.
  • RGF Professional Recruitment Japan. A Recruit Group Company, RGF is a recruiter for bilingual professionals and global organizations in Japan.
  • ReachEXT. ReachEXT focuses on Insurance, Banking, Finance & Securities, Supply-chain, and Manufacturing domains.
  • Recruit Now. A lot of translation jobs especially for people who are native speakers of Asian languages.
  • Recruit. Another large Japanese job change agency.
  • Robert Walters. Robert Walters has been operating in Japan for more than 20 years. The company promises to “never push people into unsuitable roles”. It is working across all industry sectors including accountancy & finance, banking & financial services, legal, compliance & risk, engineering & operations, general management & consultancy, human resources, information technology, sales and marketing in the fields of retail, healthcare, online as well as supply chain, logistics & procurement.
  • Robert Half. A small-sized recruitment agency specializing in industries such as finance, IT, marketing and project management.
  • Saiei International is always looking for friendly, dedicated and outgoing instructors to teach English at one of their conversation schools. Email the Overseas Coordinator Christina Pierce at englishclubjapan@hotmail.com with any questions and to apply.
  • Sakae Japan Internship Program. SJIP matches talented students and recent graduates with Japanese companies looking for skilled foreign interns.
  • Smart Partners. A company in Tokyo that specializes in recruitment, outsourcing, and temp staffing. 
  • Specialized Group. A recruitment agency that specializes in recruitment for foreign multinational companies in Japan. Positions available in a large number of industries.
  • Talisman. Bilingual executive search and recruitment service. 
  • Tokyodev. Software developer jobs in Japan for English speakers.
  • Top. Recruiter for the US, Japan, and Mexico.
  • Top Money Jobs. TMJ Partners is a financial recruiter for Japan and Asia focused on FinTech, Bitcoin, FX, Securities, Banks, Hedge Funds and Private Banks. 
  • Tsubasa Inc– Website in Japanese designed to help foreigners find a job working in Japan. 
  • Turnpoint Consulting. Automotive specialized recruitment consultancy based in Tokyo and covering the Japan market. 
  • Wahl+Case. Tech jobs in Japan.
  • Wantedly. A big list of small sized companies and Japanese startups hiring for all sorts of positions.
  • WORK Japan. Job board for people who mostly worked on the Trainee visa in Japan. 
  • Yolo Japan. Blue collar part time positions in restaurant, nursery, and construction industries.

Professional Communities/Business Organizations

  • American Chamber of Commerce in Japan. American business community in Japan. It has branches in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. All nationalities are welcome to join. A membership fee is required.
  • Tokyo Digital Marketers. The biggest group for digital marketers in Tokyo. Discussing all the stuff related to digital marketing like SEO, social media promotion, PPC and more.
  • Blink Smart Workspace. International coworking space in Osaka.
  • FEW Japan. A business community for women in Japan. All of the events are held in English.
  • Digital Thursday Gathering. A multilingual business community. A lot of small-to-medium size companies are members of it.
  • Tokyo Startup: From Idea to IPO. A business community for entrepreneurs.
  • JETRO. Japan External Trade Organization. Helping foreigners who want to open business in Japan or invest in the Japanese Economy.
  • Invest Tokyo. Administrative help and consultation on opening a startup company or its branch in Tokyo.
  • Osaka Innovation Hub. An organization helping foreign startups to set up their branch in Osaka.
  • Venture Japan- Website has helpful resources on working and doing business in Japan, as well as articles on Japanese business etiquette and what to expect when doing business in Japan. 
  • SME Japan Business Guides- Go-to English resource for entrepreneurs looking to start a business in Japan. Provides resources on taxes and accounting, financing, immigrating and moving to Japan, and more. 
  • Global Edge Japan- provides resources and links to websites that are useful for doing business in Japan. All-in-one hub for government websites and resources for business purposes.
  • The Japan Forum – Promoting Japanese culture.
  • Japan Student Services Organization (JASSO) – They have a network, the Japan Alumni Global Network, that offers support to former exchange students.

English Language Media

  • The Japan Times. The biggest English language newspaper in Japan. Covers a wide variety of topics including politics, business, sports, arts, etc.
  • Japan Today. Second big English newspaper in Japan. Similar to The Japan Times but smaller in scale.
  • Nippon.com. A website packed with longreads about politics and culture.
  • Nikkei Asian. English language media of the biggest Japanese business newspaper Nikkei Shimbun.
  • The Japan News. English language media of the biggest Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun.
  • The Asahi Shimbun. English language media of the second biggest Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun.
  • The Mainichi. English language media of the third Japanese newspaper Mainichi Shimbun.
  • Japan Forward. English language media of the fourth biggest Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun.
  • Time Out Tokyo. Time Out Tokyo is a multilingual city guide offering insight into Tokyo’s extraordinary array of choices in entertainment, events and beyond.
  • Tokyo Weekender. The oldest English publication in Japan gives tips on how and where to spend your free time. Mostly catered to the upmarket audience.
  • Metropolis Magazine. With a focus on upcoming events, exhibitions and news—including the city’s most complete events listing, Metropolis comprehensively documents what’s happening in Tokyo.

Continuous Education

  • Code Chrysalis. The company offers three courses “Intro to Programming”, “Self-Paced Intro to Programming” and “Software Engineer Track”. In the last one, you can gain enough skills to start a software engineer career.
  • GLOBIS. The full-time MBA is an accelerated, one-year MBA program in the heart of Tokyo (inc. visa support). There is also a Part-time and Online MBA program for those who do not need sponsorship.
  • Le Wagon. 9 weeks part-time courses and 24 weeks full-time courses on Web Development and Data Science. 
  • Temple University Japan Campus. The university provides evening and weekend classes for busy professionals. The range of subjects to take is wide and includes business, art, history, language classes and more. You will get a certificate at the end of the course.
  • Waseda Online Course: The Japanese Business Management course is a good introductory course for anyone interested in learning about Japanese business practices.

Japanese Language Classes

  • Edogawa Union. Basic Japanese language classes in Tokyo. Voluntary staff also organize additional events for students like cherry blossom parties.
  • Willows Communication. Japanese classes in Tokyo. Teaching Japanese through Japanese culture, life, history, industry, economy, politics, science, business. Online classes are also available.
  • Suginami Nihongo Kaiwa no Kai. Japanese conversation lessons every Tuesday in Tokyo.
  • The Shinjuku Foundation for Creation of Future. A list of all available volunteer Japanese language in the Shinjuku district.
  • Coto Academy- Studying for the JLPT? Register for a small group prep course or to work virtually with a private tutor to meet your Japanese language needs. Also available in person in Japan.
  • Meguro Language Center- Looking to start your Japanese studies, or to prepare for the JLPT exam? This website provides free study materials and practice quizzes, as well as explanations of helpful grammatical structures.
  • Japan Switch. Affordable Japanese language classes for beginners.
  • Kyoto Japanese Language School. A modern Japanese language school located in Kyoto.
  • Kai Japanese Language School. Based in Tokyo, Kai offers in-person and online language classes. 
  • Kansai College of Business and Language. A two-year program in Osaka where you can receive a technical associate’s degree that you can use to transfer as a 3rd year student to a Japanese university or find potential employment in Japan. 
  • KCP International. KCP is a fully accredited, study abroad Japanese language immersion program based in Tokyo.

Volunteer Work

  • Second Harvest Japan. The only nationwide food bank in Japan. Serves food to the low-income communities that cannot afford it.
  • Hands On Tokyo. Bilingual volunteer opportunities in Tokyo. Support orphans, eldery and children with special needs.
  • Mirai no Mori. The organization is “empowering marginalized youth” by organizing camps two times a year where they can interact and learn with adults.
  • Tell Japan.”TELL is dedicated to providing effective support and counseling services to Japan’s international community and its increasing mental health needs”.
  • Place to Grow. Place to Grow supports youth in the disaster-stricken Tohoku region.
  • RFTC. The mission of RFTC is to “eradicate breast cancer in Japan as a life-threatening disease through education, timely screening, and treatment”.
  • Japan International Volunteer Center. JIVS mission is to eradicate poverty in the developing countries in Asia and Africa. Volunteering opportunities at the Tokyo office are available.
  • Ashinaga. Ashinaga provides educational support to orphaned children worldwide.
  • Peace Boat. Japan-based international NGO which promotes peace, human rights, and sustainability. Peace Boat carries out its main activities through a passenger ship that travels the world. Internships and work opportunities are available.
  • REI. REI’s mission is to support refugees living in Japan so they can have a fulfilled life in the new country. 
  • Chokkura Home Stay. Chokkura Home Stay provides short term homestay programs for the Japanese youth up to 18 who cannot afford to study abroad. 
  • Obubu Tea Farm. This tea farm in Kyoto offers internships “with a twist.”

Be sure to connect with Artem Krivosheev on LinkedIn. If you have any other suggestions to be added to this list, please submit them here.

Don’t forget to check out the other Resource pages, too! The Online Resource page in particular is all about culture, language and job search tips, regardless of your home country.

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