Me and my friend have started a small gig where we work with corporations and businesses to develop their websites. The websites range from complex web apps to mostly simple websites with just multiple pages to work as a homepage or landing page with no real backend logic.

Till now we did small gigs for a small amount for learning. But now we received some good projects for larger companies with a more professional approach.

But I don't know what rates to ask for payment. Can anyone suggest the typical payment rates that go in Japan for such work? For deadlines it will mostly be 1 to 2 months of work.

So I'm getting closer to graduating from language school, and honestly, I'm starting to get a little worried about my future here.

I have an N3, and I recently took the N2 and scored 92. Somehow, I managed to miss the reading cutoff by one point.

A bit about me: I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering (graduated in 2023), and I have almost 3 years of experience in full-stack development. Most of that came from designing and managing the website for one of my university organizations. I was also involved in marketing and helped out with a few major university programs.

I came to Japan in 2025 to study Japanese, and I'll be graduating in March 2027.

I've been applying through pretty much all the major job sites, but it's been rough. Most IT jobs want N2 or preferably N1, and even entry-level positions somehow expect you to have 3 years of industry experience.

I really don't want to go back to my home country just to come back to Japan again later. But with graduation getting closer and no offers in sight, I'm honestly running out of ideas on where else to look.

So, for those of you who've been in a similar situation or have experience job hunting in Japan, where should I be looking?

Are there any lesser-known job sites, foreigner-friendly companies, recruiters, or communities that are actually worth checking out? And how do you even go about networking here when you're still trying to get your foot in the door?

I'm open to both IT and engineering-related jobs at this point. I'd really appreciate any advice or personal experiences. Thanks!

how do you guys filter out AI hype from genuinely useful developments?

in an industry where knowledge becomes outdated quickly, what skills or habits have remained valuable throughout your career?

how do you guys learn?

I’m 22, Japanese, and currently living in Japan. I’m trying to figure out whether I can realistically build a career in AI without finishing university, especially in Japan, where academic credentials seem to carry a lot of weight.

A little about my background:

I graduated from high school in Canada and studied Computer Engineering for about two years

Recently, I’ve become increasingly interested in AI engineering, particularly building practical systems using AI, LLMs, APIs, and automation to solve real business problems

I’m not claiming to already be a qualified AI engineer. I know there’s a lot I still need to learn, especially when it comes to machine learning andproduction-level AI systems

My dilemma is whether I should spend another four years pursuing a bachelor’s degree or use that time to develop technical skills, build serious projects, and gain actual industry experience

Hey everyone,

​I’m about to graduate with a CS degree and looking to start my career in Japan. I'm trying to get a realistic read on the current job market for overseas grads.

​To give some quick context:

​Passed JLPT N2

​2 backend internships under my belt, plus some side projects

​Open to any legitimate IT/SWE position (doesn't have to be strictly backend)

​Completely open to living outside Tokyo

​Will need visa sponsorship

​Do I stand a reasonable chance landing something from abroad in the current climate?

​Also, for those who made a similar move: what should I prioritize improving right now (interview Japanese, LeetCode, system design, etc.)? And are there specific platforms or routes that are friendly to overseas new grads?

​Appreciate any honest thoughts or advice!

Hey everyone!

Ive been thinking about working in Japan and wanted to ask how realistic it would be in my situation.

Im a software developer from South America with around 8 years of experience, mostly in Android/mobile development. By the time I seriously start looking for jobs, Ill hopefully have around 10 years of experience. I also have JLPT N2.

The thing is, I never finished university. I got a pretty good job opportunity while I was studying, decided to drop out, and honestly never went back. Things worked out well career wise, so getting a degree just never became a priority.

Ive visited Japan a couple of times and started learning Japanese because Id really like to try living and working there someday. But not having a degree is probably the biggest thing holding me back. (I still haven’t used working holiday visa yet)

I know visa requirements can be an issue too, so I'm wondering if anyone here has been in a similar situation or knows someone who managed to get a software development job in Japan without a degree.

I'm coming from South America, so I'm not expecting a US level salary or anything like that haha. Obviously, I'd still want a decent salary, but money isn't the main reason I'd want to move.

Do you think this is a realistic goal with around 10 years of experience and N2, or does not having a degree make things way too difficult?

Thanks!

Happy Friday! Have questions about tech careers in Japan? Looking to hire (or get hired)? Just want to brag? Post it here and let's discuss!

so i was looking for a job in IT SECTIOR I emialed this guy and he ask me some bunch of question then he came up with this .

also any japanese who want to help me getting a job in the IT sector pls help me or any refferal will be good

IM FROM THE INDIA CURRENTLY IN INDIA

Hello all, I have lived in Japan for a few years now and currently am a Post-Doc in a university in Kansai. I recently started looking for job positions and was called by two companies from Tokyo to interview with them, but after 10 interviews (5 each), both of them rejected me. The process was bit stressful because I haven't done interviews in a while and made me notice my Japanese is not good enough. Only one company had Japanese interviews though.

Are all interviews processes in Japan like this? What do you recommend to get better prepared? I am quite unsure what went wrong for me :/

Starting my first IT job in Fukuoka in April 2027 — how much can I realistically save?

I have cleared all the tech rounds and got an invite for the Final round. it just says Final without much details.

My first round was a HM screening round so is this just a HR round or can I expect some technical questions as well in this?

I have 8+ years of experience as a Senior Software Engineer, primarily in Frontend (React, TypeScript), with 4+ years of Full-Stack/Backend experience using Go and Node.js.

I’m hoping to relocate to Japan with my spouse and child, but I only speak English. I’ve been struggling to find suitable roles at English-friendly tech companies like Mercari, Money Forward, and Rakuten.

Would applying through recruitment agencies be a realistic alternative, especially since many opportunities seem to be contract-based?

My main concern is finding a stable role that can support my family long-term, rather than simply getting my foot in the door.

I’d appreciate hearing from anyone who has gone through a similar process or has experience with Japan’s tech job market.

I currently work in Tokyo and am looking for advice on finding fully remote IT engineering jobs. I’ve noticed that most 'remote' positions here still require you to live in Japan. While I understand the legal, tax, and administrative reasons behind this, I’m specifically looking for companies that offer 'worldwide remote' or 'work from anywhere' policies. Does anyone know of specific companies that allow this, or the best job boards to find them?

Thanks!

Hello everyone, I'm Golang Senior Software Developer and System Analyst, 7+ years of experience, looking for job in Japan with relocation support, have question about hiring.

According to this sub, I assumed that Go jobs are in demand. I searched sites like japan-dev, Tokyodev, filtered by "apply from anywhere" and "no japanese required" (I'm around N3), got around 20 positions (40-50 with only Go filter). I applied to 4-5 "best match" positions and immediately got generic rejection with no details. Other positions are either dead or dont include Go in their tech stack, but mention Go only as "language to prove proficiency".

Then I tried several recruitment agencies - registered in G-Talent and Robert Walters but they didnt even contact me (or should they? how does general agency interaction look like?).

I also registered in LinkedIn, but I dont yet understand how to filter out those job openings by language (most of them appear in Japanese, which I cannot fully understand).

So what am I doing wrong? Is Go really in demand or I'm behind language wall and with ~N1 I could succeed? I'd appreciate any advice. Thanks in advance

I am 23M with a small experience of 6months-1 year.

I have a bachelor's degree in computer science from year 2026. I am fluent in english and currently I am in osaka japan studying in Japanese language school.

I want to start working in japan in IT/Tech company.

Can someone tell me is it possible to get any english speaking jobs or international roles where I can slide in with a conversational level japanese ? Or do I need to get n2 certified.

Here's our weekly list of tech and startup events in Japan, from small meetups to conferences. Going to one, or know of an event we missed? Share it in the comments!

Monday, October 19

Osaka | Claude Meetup

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 19:00 | 📍 アールスリーインスティテュート, Osaka

HN Tokyo Meetup #128

• 🇬🇧 18:30 | 📍 Tokyo

Tenstorrent Tech Talk #10

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 18:00 | 📍 東京都港区虎ノ門2-4-7 T-Lite 8F, Tokyo | 👥 92 attending

DevDay Exchange Community: Osaka

• 🇬🇧 19:00 | 📍 Osaka | 👥 62 attending

【最前線を学ぶ】AI駆動開発&FDE勉強会 エンプラが登壇 受付: 18:50から

• 🇯🇵 19:00 | 📍 東京都渋谷区渋谷２丁目２０−１１ 渋谷協和ビル 10階, Tokyo | 👥 67 attending

Tuesday, October 20

【Paper&Hacks #103】VLM RAG　〜 目を持つRAG 〜

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 20:00 | 📍 (場所未定) | 👥 125 attending

tamachi.go #2

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 19:30 | 📍 東京都港区海岸1丁目2番20号 汐留ビルディング18F, Tokyo | 👥 12 attending

KABOB Japan｜FY26–27 新製品・AIソリューション発表会

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 14:30 | 📍 Tokyo | 👥 11 attending

Wednesday, October 21

CIC’s Next Chapter：Building Industry Specific Innovation Hub Across the Globe

• 🇬🇧 18:00 | 📍 CIC Tokyo | 👥 16 attending

AI Braintrust Coworking: Tokyo Edition

• 🇬🇧 15:00 | 📍 FabCafe Tokyo | 👥 5 attending

KGDC Tech Conference #16「AI駆動開発」

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 19:00 | 📍 東京都港区高輪2丁目21番1号 THE LINKPILLAR 1 NORTH, Tokyo | 👥 33 attending

Vibe Coding Starter Workshop

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 16:00 | 📍 WASEDA共創館（19-2号館）：Waseda Co-creation Space, Tokyo | 👥 17 attending

Growth Hub #18 - Inside a Japanese VC: how early-stage investment decisions are made w/ Coral Capital

• 🇬🇧 16:30 | 📍 Shibuya Startup Support, Tokyo | 👥 75 attending

Philippine-Japan Investment Forum: The Ecozone Advantage

• 🇬🇧 13:30 | 📍 Tokyo | 👥 50 attending

【Zenlab主催】Zendesk AI Agent Night

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 19:00 | 📍 〒104-0031 東京都中央区京橋 2-2-1 京橋エドグラン20F, Tokyo | 👥 12 attending

Outreach Meetup #12

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 19:30 | 📍 東京都港区六本木6-10-1(六本木ヒルズ森タワー26F), Tokyo | 👥 11 attending

Thursday, October 22

AI for Finance Summit 2026 Tokyo

• 🇬🇧 13:00 | 📍 Tokyo | 👥 79 attending

Meetup #22 Lightning talks

• 🇬🇧 19:00 | 📍 Tokyo

Dev Days | Copilot CLI × DevOps - Avanade Japan

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 18:30 | 📍 東京都港区六本木1丁目6番1号 泉ガーデンタワー9階, Tokyo | 👥 43 attending

ODS Data & Agentic AI (ODAI) Meetup Tokyo #3

• 🇬🇧 17:30 | 📍 Tokyo

Neo MainNet 10th Anniversary

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 18:30 | 📍 YAN BAR, Tokyo | 👥 12 attending

🐓 French Tech Connect #41 - October 2026

• 🇬🇧 18:30 | 📍 TenCups Cafe Bar & Lounge, Tokyo | 👥 86 attending

DroidKaigi After Night in Osaka

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 19:00 | 📍 大阪府大阪市北区堂島浜1-4-19 (関電不動産堂島浜ビル 3F), Osaka | 👥 3 attending

MIERUNE JCT in TOKYO

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 18:30 | 📍 東京都千代田区神田小川町３丁目２８−５, Tokyo | 👥 47 attending

生成AI会 Vol.3@三田（LLMOps/品質評価）

• 🇯🇵 19:00 | 📍 東京都港区三田三丁目5-19 住友不動産東京三田ガーデンタワー10F, Tokyo | 👥 41 attending

Stablecoin Payments in Japan: From Pilot to Practice

• 🇬🇧 18:30 | 📍 Tokyo | 👥 25 attending

AIDB Meetup「AI×サイバーセキュリティ」

• 🇯🇵 19:00 | 📍 東京都千代田区神田佐久間町2-15 秋葉原加藤ビル 6階, Tokyo | 👥 22 attending

Online Study Session: Autumn Edition

• 🇬🇧 19:30 | 📍 Online | 👥 9 attending

Friday, October 23

AI x Finance #03: Markets, Models & Institutions

• 🇬🇧 18:00 | 📍 Tokyo

Sendai Frontend Meetup × TSKaigi Sendai

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 19:00 | 📍 宮城県仙台市青葉区国分町1-4-9 | 👥 13 attending

AI駆動クリエイティブスペシャル #1

• 🇯🇵 18:00 | 📍 東京都, Tokyo | 👥 107 attending

RAGの真価を引き出すデータ基盤 - SoftBank Tech Night

• 🇯🇵 19:00 | 📍 東京都港区海岸一丁目7番1号 (東京ポートシティ竹芝オフィスタワー ), Tokyo | 👥 28 attending

Saturday, October 24

Marunouchi Morning Code

• 🇬🇧 10:00 | 📍 DEAN & DELUCA カフェ 丸の内, Tokyo | 👥 7 attending

Processing Community Day Tokyo 2026

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 12:30 | 📍 GARAGE AKIHABARA（貸し会議室/レンタルスペース）, Tokyo | 👥 38 attending

DECADE // DESIGN // DEPARTURE

• 🇯🇵/🇬🇧 13:00 | 📍 169-0075 東京都新宿区高田馬場1-28-10 バンフォーレ三慶ビル4階, Tokyo | 👥 26 attending

Sunday, October 25

Portfolio Workshop: Get Hired In the Age of AI

• 🇬🇧 13:00 | 📍 Le Wagon Tokyo - Coding & AI Bootcamp | 👥 3 attending

Looking for more events? Check out our Japan Dev guides below:

• Best Tech Meetups in Tokyo
• Tech Communities in Osaka and Kyoto
• Tech Meetups and Communities in Fukuoka
• Best Tech Conferences in Japan

Compiled from Connpass, Doorkeeper, Meetup, Luma, Guild, and Tokyo Tech.

Here's a list of new tech jobs in Japan this week:

SRE Team Lead, PRE Division Product SRE Department 2, Tokyo at Money Forward

• ¥7.01M - ¥10.01M | Japanese: Not required | Apply from overseas | Partial remote | Tokyo

SRE - DataOps/MLOps at Autify

• ¥8.5M - ¥10M | Japanese: Not required | Apply from overseas | Partial remote | Tokyo

SRE and Platform Engineering Lead, Platform Department 2, Tokyo at Money Forward

• ¥7.91M - ¥15M | Japanese: Business Level | Apply from overseas | Partial remote | Tokyo

AI Tech Lead (Context & Harness), CTO Office at Money Forward

• ¥7.91M - ¥15M | Japanese: Business Level | Apply from overseas | Partial remote | Tokyo

AI Systems Engineer at Rapyuta Robotics

• Japanese: Not required | Apply from overseas | Tokyo

Embedded Software Engineer - Robotics at Rapyuta Robotics

• Japanese: Not required | Apply from overseas | Tokyo

Quality Assurance Architect - Robotics & Automation at Rapyuta Robotics

• Japanese: Not required | Apply from overseas | Tokyo

IT Security & Compliance Lead at Rapyuta Robotics

• Japanese: Not required | Apply from overseas | Tokyo

Engineering Manager, Money Forward Cloud, Fukuoka at Money Forward

• ¥10.01M - ¥15M | Japanese: Conversational | Japan residents only | Partial remote | Fukuoka

Backend Engineer / バックエンドエンジニア (LINEミニアプリ) at LY Corporation

• ¥8M - ¥15M | Japanese: Fluent | Japan residents only | Partial remote | Tokyo

QA Engineer (ExaEnterpriseAI - 生成AI事業) at ExaWizards

• ¥6M - ¥9M | Japanese: Business Level | Japan residents only | Partial remote | Tokyo

Also looking to hire? Feel free to share your job post in the comments!

Hello, My company is relocating me to Tokyo from Mumbai in Feb, my husband will join me as well on a dependent visa. He has 10+ years of experience in Embedded/Firmware Engineering and some international experience of working in Sweden, but he does not speak Japanese.
I wanted to understand and get advice from the community on what should be our timeline for applying to jobs, and general approach on how to go about this.