4 Tried & True Advices for Foreign Professionals Eyeing a Long-Lasting Corporate Career in Japan

Dear Linkedin network, 

2021 marks my 7th year working in Japan. 

Upon this occasion, I would like to share 4 honest pieces of advice that helped me in my professional journey as a working foreigner in Japan. These advice are targeted at those of you eyeing a professional move to Japan, especially in a corporate career, or those who already made the move to this beautiful country recently.

Disclaimer : My career in Japan has been in the domain of Human Resources services, with 5 years in Tokyo and 2 years in Kansai, within Gaishikei (foreign company). Some parts of the article may be less relevant to other careers and context. 

1. Don’t become lost in translation - Study Japanese (at least until JLPT2)

According to recent studies, less than 30 percent of the Japanese population speak English at any level, ranking at #55 on the Global English Proficiency Index in 2020 (labeled as “Low” English proficiency level).

Consequently, you will quickly realize that Japanese reading and speaking skills are a must to navigate Japan’s transportation, administration, and professional scenes.

Having a solid basis in Japanese language will most essentially allow you to:

• Struggle less in your daily life, creating more mental space to focus on your professional life!
• Understanding better what is happening around you in the office
• Picking up the words commonly used in specific business context (Keigo), which could be useful for you in the future !

I would advise studying until at least JLPT2 (Japan Language Proficiency Test) before coming, allowing you to ramp up quickly in Japanese skills once you are immersed in it.

In my experience, I started learning Japanese by myself (hiragana/katakana and simple grammar) on and off for 2-3 years to pass JLPT 5, before getting more serious on Japanese language study, using mainly JLPT tests books, and watching lots and lots of Japanese content with subtitles (to be able to associate words with the context, as well as getting better at listening and pronunciation). 

Then, two years in the country and private japanese tuitions were necessary to start speaking and writing in Japanese with confidence.

2. Build your professional network

Especially in the first years in Japan, creating your own network is fundamental to:

• Understand the market with its trends and struggles, have an eye on other industries and actors
• Keep an eye on future opportunities 
• Meet acquaintances who will potentially help you in your journey 

Before you arrive, reach out to people on Linkedin or other networks, who you think you have common points with (domain of activity, similar nationality, alumni of your school etc.), start getting some advice from them and plan to meet them in real life upon your arrival. 

Once you are in Japan, I would recommend signing up for Meetups in your domain of competency/passion, for alumni of your school in Japan (or create one!), joining associations/circles and, if you have the budget, go to some events of the foreign chambers of commerce.

Nurture these connections. We live in a small world, and the person you talk with today around a cup of coffee could potentially be your customer, business partner and/or a precious help tomorrow - true story.

Most importantly, getting around truthful people who are in similar situations as you are, and benefitting from their experience will be crucial to go through different personal or professional challenges encountered while you work in Japan.

Chances are great that they have been experiencing the same!

3. Protect your personal zone, and never forget who you are. 

Outside of an average 40h workweek, frequent overtime and “professional socialisation” (nomikai), make sure to keep some time for yourself. 

Although work may still dominate as one’s most important duty in Japan, I like to think that one’s first duty as an employee is to come to work in good mental and physical health. 

Therefore it is crucial to plan sufficient time for family and friends calls, protecting your sleep time as much as you can, ensuring to be in good shape (including not skipping medical checkups). 

During your time in Japan you will struggle for different reasons. That is a fact. Japanese society as a whole have very high expectations for you, both at the professional and social level. 

As a result, it may come to your mind one day that your assimilation in the Japanese work landscape will never be enough. However, keep in mind that you are not responsible to live up to what other people expect of you.

My personal ways to deal with these certain forms of pressure are to: 

• Get away on short week-ends and solo hikes
• Keeping on learning new languages
• Nurturing artistic activities (guitar, piano, drawing)
• Regular sports activities (running)

This sphere of personal mental safety and healthy lifestyle will help to cope with the last point –

4. Don’t expect too much, embrace disappointments as important lessons 

You may come to Japan with a head full of dreams and expectations, as I did in 2014. 

And as an international talent coming into a - still - quite local market, you will for sure have a certain added value in Japan. 

However, as it is the case in many countries, you will also encounter major challenges in different forms. You may feel disillusioned within a year or two. 

If you are really eyeing a long-lasting career, be ready to accept and embrace frustration, and train your resilience. These may occur when 

• Some of your propositions are not accepted at first 
• The progress turns out to be not as quick as you wanted
• Your actions are not welcomed the way you thought they would
• You may feel you are being treated differently 

Failure and frustration is part of a professional journey, including in Japan when it is all the more true, thanks to a very strong, demanding and often inflexible corporate culture. 

Keep on failing, learning from it and little by little improve your actions and strategies. You may think of different ways to act, different people to get support from, in order to finally get closer to your objectives. 

To finish with,

Starting a career in Japan is an amazing achievement in itself, so go for it !

And to my readers : 

• If you are already working in Japan: what other advice do you have for new professionals coming to Japan?
• If you are thinking of working in Japan: any questions you’d like help with?