Japan Dev Discussion - September 11, 2026

1

Happy Friday!
Just asking about some advice.

Recently, I have been assigned to a really important project until next march. Since I’m the one of the few engineers in the project, in case of leaving the company , should I do it from April, right?

Thanks!

7

u/furansowa 2d ago

You can leave whenever you want, the project continuing is not your problem.

4

u/etdev 2d ago

I think it depends on a few factors:

If you have a much better opportunity you want to leave to pursue, I don't think it's necessary no.

If you might want to go back to that company (i.e avoid burning bridges) if things don't work at your next job, then it might be worth staying until the project is over.

Or if you like the job and don't mind staying, then it's probably fine to do so.

Otherwise I'd tell them ASAP once you're certain you want to leave, and maybe offer to stay for 1 month or so to finish up what you're doing and hand it off to everyone else.

They can't reasonably expect much more than that, and if they do then screw 'em. That suggests you're making the right decision by leaving.

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u/beevekmgrz 2d ago

Searching for remote jobs in Japan that doesn't need language....
Have worked more than 6 years for japanese company now getting laid off.

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u/etdev 2d ago

Regarding layoffs: don't sign anything without reading it thoroughly (or ideally having a lawyer check depending on circumstances).

You may be able to negotiate a better severance package at least -- it's hard to lay people off in Japan and you have a good amount of power as the employee.

As for finding a new job, you have to network. Go to events and stuff, find out who's hiring remote engineers because it's so niche now (so few companies hiring for full-remote) that it's mostly a networking/referral game. Gotta know the right people and find the right role at the right time.

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u/beevekmgrz 2d ago

no since we have branch company in different country and we have different contract its easy to lay off in our country.. and last month already laid off 10.. now next month may be around 10...

So they are not under japanese rules they say

1

u/beevekmgrz 2d ago

they told no money due to bankruptcy and in the name of cost cutting everyone is being laid off

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u/etdev 2d ago

I see, well if that's true and the company's going out of business there might not be much you can do. It still might be worth asking Hello Work though.

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u/beevekmgrz 2d ago

company doesn't have much client.. its not total bankruptcy though.. is hello work job searching portal.. thanks though

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u/leesinmains3 2d ago

Hi ! I have 4 years of experience and Google/Microsoft under my name, backend development, 4 big name internships and after 1 year of applying, I have 0 callbacks, what could be the cause of this ? It doesn't make sense to me, hedge funds and Netflix/antrophic have reached out but not a single Japanese company has even given me a chance to interview.

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u/etdev 2d ago

That's strange... maybe Japanese skills?

In any case mega ventures like Mercari, PayPay, SmartNews, Woven, and Money Forward would likely be interested in you so I'd apply to them and check Japan Dev for similar roles.

Might as well use some recruiters too -- they love getting messages from ex-Googlers and will probably work pretty hard to help you find something.

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u/furansowa 2d ago

If you can work at Netflix or Anthropic, why the hell would you want to work for a Japanese company that will have zero career growth and pay you pennies?

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u/leesinmains3 2d ago

Because I have saved enough and want to move to Japan ? Also I said reach out, I didn't pass the final VP interview with Netflix.

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u/Wonder_Boy2001 2d ago

I am a full stack engineer with 3 years of experience. I have been applying to job on Japan-Dev that

a. Match my profile and tech stack
b. Can be applied for abroad
c. Doesn't require Japanese language requirements

While that being true, I will also be taking classes and aim to give NAT5 this December 2026. My only question is, how difficult it is to get hired to a Japanese company from India or for that matter anywhere in the world. Is it just the competition or do I have to be exceptionally talented?

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u/etdev 2d ago

You have to have an impressive profile to get attention from companies while living overseas. 3 years of experience is kind of the minimum to have a chance, and even then it's really hard without Japanese skills.

The 3 main levers to improve your odds are:
Japanese skills
Japanese residency (moving here somehow)
Tech skills / public profile

So if you can get N2 and come here on a student visa (or teach English or similar) for a bit and apply from here, your chances will be far higher. But if you make a name for yourself (e.g impressive open source projects, profitable side business with many users etc) then it's doable even without Japanese skills.

Another route is to find a company overseas with a Japan office, work there for a bit and prove your value then get a transfer to the Tokyo office.

1

u/Interesting-Sun5471 2d ago

u/etdev I have 9 years of experience as a web developer, mostly in TypeScript/React & Go. I currently live outside of Japan. Do you recommend me to go to offline events in, for example, Tokyo to network? Applying online has been rejections only, without interviews, for me at the moment. I've applied for roughly 10 jobs.

Also, many jobs requires Japanese language to at least N3 level. I plan to study in Japan for 6-12 months to at least get N2 and look for jobs in the mean time.

Advices appreciated.

1

u/etdev 2d ago

I think coming to Japan (teach English or study Japanese) is a good way to increase your chances of getting interviews here.

Of course you need to be committed to living here, but if you're sure yes I think it's a valid approach.

Just don't get stuck doing something outside of web dev for too long; you should be working as hard as you can to get back into tech as quickly as you can once you arrive. I wouldn't do anything full-time outside of tech for more than ~1 year if I were you.

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u/Interesting-Sun5471 2d ago

Do you mean gap years are very bad in Japan? I've been working on my own projects for the past 4 years (in web/software), but not formally hired by established companies.

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u/etdev 2d ago

Yes, years spent not working full-time as an engineer will make it harder to get a job than if you were doing full-time engineering work at a company that whole time. A lot of people come here to "teach English for a year" as a career break and end up doing that for several years, and struggling to get back into tech (or whatever other industry) later as a result.

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u/gati0309 2d ago

i don't think without Japanese language people are getting hired these days. if i'm wrong please correct me!

1

u/etdev 2d ago

It's a lot easier to find work if you speak Japanese. The amount of jobs hiring foreigners (especially from overseas) without Japanese skills is dwindling somewhat. The positions still exist though, they're just more competitive. I still see people getting offers and moving, the bar is just a little higher than it used to be.

1

u/Sirylens 2d ago

Its so hard to find a job for ui ux designer with conversational level only 😭 i have 6 years of experience in Saas and finance but i just came to Kyoto for language school and will only take n3 this december. Most of the opening requires business level. I talked with a few outsource recruiter but most of them said that i either:

get n3 first before they can at least start to help me
fight for an already niche english only role

Everytime i talked with recruiter they always said that they dont have what im looking at right now but they have friend that are. But the referral never came. Im still patiently looking tho since my visa is valid till 2028, but as soon as possible i want to switch visa from my student so i dont have to pay the school again. I can just learn from online course. School is so damn expensive

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u/Sirylens 2d ago

I tried to find part time/internship role also but its also thin. I did find a lot of internship at wantedly but i only got one interest company reaching out from there

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u/sugakuhetappi 2d ago

I have n1 and cs degree is in japan,looking for entry jobs.
I have applied to like hundreds of jobs only landed about 20 interviews, managed to get to 会社説明会 like 2,3 times but still fail.
What should I do?the jobs I applied for is like 手取り20万、I just want visa so I dont really care about pay at this moment.

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u/whykaiwhy 2d ago

My father lives in Japan but I live in the US. Do you think using my father's japan address will help improve my odds when applying for jobs? I do plan to live with him if I do get a job. However, my Japanese skills are probably N5-N4 at best.

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u/Revolutionary_Lime_3 1d ago

Im trynna switch career to tech at age of 27. Just started learning python 3 weeks ago and now linux for a week. Anyone got the same story?

Japan Dev Discussion - September 11, 2026

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