[shankar89]

Hello,

Is there a scope for MBAs in Japan. Everywhere I see that English techers being in demand. What are the chances of getting a job that doesnt require mandatory Japanese requirement for someone with a good experience in business domain and with excellent academic qualifications with a MBA degree. Pls share any insights that may help and resources on where to search for english-only jobs in Japan.

Thanks,

 

[myrrh]

Hello,

Is there a scope for MBAs in Japan. Everywhere I see that English techers being in demand. What are the chances of getting a job that doesnt require mandatory Japanese requirement for someone with a good experience in business domain and with excellent academic qualifications with a MBA degree. Pls share any insights that may help and resources on where to search for english-only jobs in Japan.

Thanks,

Over 90% of the foreigners working in Japan are not teaching English. (The government here keeps track and periodically posts statistics in Japanese.) However, yes, most of these foreigners have at least intermediate Japanese. There are exceptions--particularly if you have knowledge of programming languages and/or experience with software development, database administration. (If you are proficient, say, in C++ and Java, know how to work with multiple operating systems and understand how anti-virus and network security systems work, then the Japanese language requirement--even if listed in the advert--is often waived.)

Ads can be found at Daijobs -- https://www.daijob.com/en/ -- and a few other places. Here's another hint: If you do a search in English for the desired position on Yahoo!JAPAN, you will often be able to find job adverts--many posted only on company websites--from a variety of companies in that field. While a number of ads will be for places outside of Japan, many (most?) will be Japan-based. (The search engine can be finicky at times until you get used to it.)

As with a job search anywhere else, look through the available adverts, apply to any job not listing a Japanese language requirement, and keep your fingers crossed. That said, you should be aware that there are a small number of scammers out there--never pay money to any private agency to get hired and/or to facilitate getting a visa. Finally, regarding commission-only positions, I personally would recommend against them. The English-speaking population in Japan is quite small, and many do not have significant sums to invest. Given this, unless you are fluent also in Japanese (and/or Chinese/Korean), the pool of potential customers is often too limited to make a decent living just off commissions.

My two yen, anyway.

 

[larabell]

I might add that if you do have skill in some technical or business field, another avenue to check out would be to look for a job with a firm in your home country that either has or wants to have a strong presence in Japan. Go in with the proposal that you would work locally for a while, learn the business, then transfer to Japan to help them manage things here. My gut feel is that the majority of ex-pats working in Japan who were not already reasonably fluent in the language when they came over were likely sent here by their companies. Without being able to speak the language, you're primarily limited to non-Japanese companies anyway. Plus by getting sent over instead of being hired locally, you're more likely to get a reasonably good deal, compensation-wise.

 

[shankar89]

I might add that if you do have skill in some technical or business field, another avenue to check out would be to look for a job with a firm in your home country that either has or wants to have a strong presence in Japan. Go in with the proposal that you would work locally for a while, learn the business, then transfer to Japan to help them manage things here. My gut feel is that the majority of ex-pats working in Japan who were not already reasonably fluent in the language when they came over were likely sent here by their companies. Without being able to speak the language, you're primarily limited to non-Japanese companies anyway. Plus by getting sent over instead of being hired locally, you're more likely to get a reasonably good deal, compensation-wise.

Hey, thanks for your reply. I'm trying that route as well, but not many options available for my background. I'm not a IT or Software Developer, I'm a MBA grad, experienced in P&L management, Category management kinda profile, so finding limited options but I really like Japanese culture and wanted to spend a few years getting exposure there.

Reg Japanese language fluency, what level would be expected for landing a job there?

Thanks for your time and help.

 

[shankar89]

Over 90% of the foreigners working in Japan are not teaching English. (The government here keeps track and periodically posts statistics in Japanese.) However, yes, most of these foreigners have at least intermediate Japanese. There are exceptions--particularly if you have knowledge of programming languages and/or experience with software development, database administration. (If you are proficient, say, in C++ and Java, know how to work with multiple operating systems and understand how anti-virus and network security systems work, then the Japanese language requirement--even if listed in the advert--is often waived.)

Ads can be found at Daijobs -- https://www.daijob.com/en/ -- and a few other places. Here's another hint: If you do a search in English for the desired position on Yahoo!JAPAN, you will often be able to find job adverts--many posted only on company websites--from a variety of companies in that field. While a number of ads will be for places outside of Japan, many (most?) will be Japan-based. (The search engine can be finicky at times until you get used to it.)

As with a job search anywhere else, look through the available adverts, apply to any job not listing a Japanese language requirement, and keep your fingers crossed. That said, you should be aware that there are a small number of scammers out there--never pay money to any private agency to get hired and/or to facilitate getting a visa. Finally, regarding commission-only positions, I personally would recommend against them. The English-speaking population in Japan is quite small, and many do not have significant sums to invest. Given this, unless you are fluent also in Japanese (and/or Chinese/Korean), the pool of potential customers is often too limited to make a decent living just off commissions.

My two yen, anyway.

Thanks a lot Myrrh. That was quite helpful, will check out the links for sure. Also, I'm not a techie. Im a MBA grad and was wondering if any relevant roles would be available for foreigners without Japanese fluency. I really liked Japanese culture when I travelled there, felt like working and experiencing the same for a few years

Thanks a lot for your inputs anyways. Let me know any sites or ways to look for english speaking jobs for someone with a MBA business background. Will help a lot. Thanks

 

[myrrh]

Thanks a lot Myrrh. That was quite helpful, will check out the links for sure. Also, I'm not a techie. Im a MBA grad and was wondering if any relevant roles would be available for foreigners without Japanese fluency. I really liked Japanese culture when I travelled there, felt like working and experiencing the same for a few years

Thanks a lot for your inputs anyways. Let me know any sites or ways to look for english speaking jobs for someone with a MBA business background. Will help a lot. Thanks

Basically, that link I shared above plus this one for Gaijinpot -- https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/ -- are the two major Japanese job sites for ads for non-teaching positions open to foreigners. If you look on both sites but can't find a position matching your qualifications at either...well, the market has spoken. Note that Gaijinpot has a special "no nihongo" (no Japanese language ability) section:

https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/job/inde...ium=search_nonihongo&utm_campaign=browse_jobs

I've just looked--the offerings are pretty grim (mostly English teaching positions and restaurant work)--but there are one or two jobs that might suit you. (Though again beware of commission-only positions.)

Good luck!

 

[myrrh]

Gaijinpot also has a separate link listing jobs open to people applying from overseas.

https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/job/inde...um=search_overseasok&utm_campaign=browse_jobs

Your job will be to find a position in this latter section that 1) fits your background and interests, and 2) doesn't require at least intermediate Japanese language ability. Unfortunately, most of the posts listed here that don't require Japanese are for techies. Still, take a look--maybe you'll get lucky!

 

[shankar89]

Gaijinpot also has a separate link listing jobs open to people applying from overseas.

https://jobs.gaijinpot.com/job/inde...um=search_overseasok&utm_campaign=browse_jobs

Your job will be to find a position in this latter section that 1) fits your background and interests, and 2) doesn't require at least intermediate Japanese language ability. Unfortunately, most of the posts listed here that don't require Japanese are for techies. Still, take a look--maybe you'll get lucky!

Thanks a lot, will keep a look out in these links for any relevant openings in the future. Thanks for your time

Regards,
Shankar

 

[larabell]

Reg Japanese language fluency, what level would be expected for landing a job there?

Obviously, that's going to depend on the job and the employer. Think of it this way...

If you were looking to fill a position and you had a choice between someone local who you're able to communicate with in your native language and who already lives in Japan legally, or someone who doesn't speak your language and who you have to jump through hoops to hire because they require visa sponsorship... who would you choose?

It's not a matter of reaching some minimum level of fluency. It's a matter of being the best person for the job. If you have a technical skill that's hard to find, the employer is much more likely to bend over backward to hire you no matter what your level of Japanese fluency. If your skills are pretty much the same as any number of local Japanese (or ex-pats already in Japan with valid visas), and you can't speak Japanese well enough to convince the prospective employer that hiring you is the best solution, you're going to end up at the bottom of the list.

So... to answer your question... enough fluency to convince someone to hire you rather than a local Japanese with the same skill set. When you look at it that way, the bar is set pretty high.