Lesson 1: Understanding Japanese Companies’ Mindset at Job Interviews 

Last June 13, 2025, FAST OFFER International held the first episode of the Work in Japan 101 Free Webinar Series to talk about what Japanese companies are thinking during job interviews. Host Ruchira-san was joined by her colleague Gen Furutaka-san, who, as a career advisor for FAST OFFER International since 2022, helps international talents find the perfect company to join in Japan.

Here, we’ve put together the key lessons from the webinar to help you understand what Japanese companies are looking for and how that affects your job interview.

Japanese Companies Are Looking for Membership-Type Employees   

There are two employment types: Job-Type and Membership-Type. Most of the world uses job-type employment, which prioritizes the skill fit of a talent. However, Japanese companies, at the core, are looking for employees with the right character and potential to help achieve the company’s vision for a long time.   

• Job-Type = Specialist-first: Great for those who want defined roles and performance-driven progression.  
• Membership-Type = Company-first: Best for those who value stability, long-term development, and integration into a larger company mission. 

To help you understand this better, here is a table that compares the two job types. 

Job-Type vs. Membership-Type Employment 

Finding the Right Japanese Company That Fits You  

There are three things that determine the compatibility of an employee with a Japanese company: job fit, culture fit, and vision fit. “Job fit” is the minimum requirement for you to land a job interview. The interview will then check if you fit their culture and vision.  

Job Fit: The Minimum Requirements to Get Japanese Companies Interested in Your Profile  

Before you even get to that job interview, you need a Japanese company to see your potential through your profile. Here are the minimum requirements to get booked for a Japanese job interview:  

All Applicants  

Must understand Japan’s hiring calendar

• Can accommodate the joining date. Contracts for job offers are typically signed months, up to a year in advance, before the talents officially join the company. Joining dates are usually in April (Spring) or October (Autumn). Scheduled joining dates help sync company-wide training for mass-hired employees and the Japanese fiscal year.  

Can apply through four pathways

• University placement. If your university has partnered with Japanese companies, they will go to your university job fairs. However, university assistance may be limited due to the large number of students they need to help.  
• Direct application. You can go to a Japanese company’s website and find their application procedures there. The process can be pretty complicated, starting from a Kanji-heavy, convoluted Japanese Resume.  
• Talent Scout. If you’re lucky enough, you may be scouted by making your profile available on job-hunting sites such as LinkedIn.
• Through a Third-Party Agency. Agencies can help make the complicated Japanese job-hunting experience more straightforward. Agency services may vary though and have their own caveats: agency fees, bond contracts, or their interests they might enforce on you.   
  • Through the FAST OFFER International program. All our services are 100% free, from starting your journey through Japanese classes, job matching, practicing interviews, flying to Japan for interviews, to job acceptance support. Click here for the next steps to get a job in Japan through FAST OFFER International.  

Mid-Career Applicants  

• You have more than 3 years of experience.  
• You are fluent in Japanese. Japanese fluency is much stricter for this segment. This is because you will be trained less and you will be competing with other Japanese native speakers.  
• You have the skills and experience required. Experience with larger companies is seen as a plus.  

Final Year Student and Fresh/Recent Graduate Applicants  

• You are a Final Year Student or a Fresh/Recent Graduate. You can apply as a fresh to a recent graduate from your final year at university up to two years after graduating with your Bachelor’s or Master’s degree.  
• Less than 3 years of work experience. 
• The right background. Although you don’t need an excessive amount of experience, you will need to show passion for the specific field you are targeting. This should reflect the degree you chose to study, the internships you took, and the topic of your final year project.   
• Conversational basic Japanese. Most interviews with Japanese companies are in Japanese. Make sure you can use Japanese to talk about your background, as well as fully understand your interviewers.  

Culture and Vision Fit: What Japanese Companies are Looking for at the Job Interview  

Once you land a Japanese job interview, here are the things that will now determine whether you will get that job offer.  

Japanese Job Interviews Will Look For Talents Who Can…  

Thrive living AND working in Japan for a long time  

Often, the first question talents will face is: Why do you want to work in Japan?  

Most talents would name their favorite anime shows or J-doramas. This is a valid reason to want to work in Japan! However, it’s not quite enough to be your only motivation. When you move to work and live in Japan, you will find plenty of benefits to living in Japan. However, it is just as important to. be suited to working in Japan. For some who only went to Japan because of anime, for example, they quickly run out of steam once they’re in Japan.  

That’s why, if you’re considering moving to Japan, you must also find a reason to get excited about working in Japan. Do you prefer membership-type employment? Are you passionate about the industry you are joining and its career possibilities? You must be able to express career aspirations to show the interviewer that you won’t just enjoy living in Japan but also working for them.   

Whatever your reason may be, though, you must be authentic. You can lie to your interviewers about what you think they want to hear, but that will only negatively impact you. You will either fail the interview as they were able to detect insincerity, or you will get the job and end up quitting immediately.  

The best way to show your keenness about working in Japan is to imagine specific details about your future career in Japan. You’ll be able to do this if you do your company research!   

Be genuinely interested in working with the company  

Again, company research is vital to your job interview! Japanese companies are highly skilled at detecting genuine interest in the company. This question is an opportunity to show them how well you have researched the company. They are expecting that, at the very least, you have read through their website. When talking about the company, it’s not enough to praise the company but already imagine how you can fit into its context, contribute to the company vision, and sync with its values.   

Share company values  

A person’s values inform who they are as a person and set their direction in life. Skills can be taught and learned by the company, but they cannot affect your core values as much. Thus, Japanese companies are mainly looking for talents who already share those values. Beyond just making money, why do you want to work for the company? How do you want to contribute to society? Is serving the company’s vision the same as fulfilling your vision? An employee who shares the company’s purpose is driven to go above and beyond, have grit through difficult times, work passionately, and, most importantly, grow with the company.   

Communicate well  

You can have all the ingredients for the perfect candidate, but it can all fall apart if you are unable to get on the same page as your interviewer. Your communication skill is partly your capacity to speak Japanese but also beyond that. In fact, Japanese companies won’t be able to ascertain that you have a JLPT certificate! Instead, more than your JLPT score, your interviewer will judge your overall communication skills. They will be gauging how much you can understand your interviewer beyond the words articulated. How well can you understand your interviewers’ motivation, mindset, body language, and context? On the flip side, this also means being able to communicate what you’re saying clearly, confirming you’re on the same page, organically mirroring your interviewer’s expressions, and having a respectful and friendly countenance.   

Be trained  

A large part of the experience of working with a Japanese company is training. Japanese companies are keen to train new employees to fit into company culture, but will their investment pay off? Is talent eager to learn? This aspect is a key indicator of how much you can grow with the company. Trainability is also why Japanese companies mass hire clear-slate fresh graduates because they believe they are generally easier to train.  

Here’s What’s Next Through FAST OFFER International  

After knowing all the facts and understanding the mindset of Japanese companies, are you convinced this is the path for you? Then, it’s time to take your dream to the next level!   

If you’re still deciding about working in Japan

• What is job hunting for work in Japan like for international talents? Read our success stories!
• What is it like to work in Japan? Read our career guide on the benefits of working at a Japanese company or our success stories from talents who are already working in Japan here: 
  • Embarking on a Career Journey: A Malaysian’s Electronics Engineering Path in Japan 
  • Overcoming Language Barriers as an Indonesian Professional 
  • How My Impossible Dream Came True in Japan: From Malaysia to a Career in Japanese Engineering 
  • Indonesian Working in Japan: This Salary Woman Thrives Through Her Passion for Languages 
  • From Universiti Sains Malaysia to an Engineering Career in Japan: How I Surpassed My Expectations 
  • Chinese Working In Japan: How They Launched Their Engineering Career 
  • How to Work in Japan As an Indonesian: An ITB Alumni’s Road to a Vibrant Life Working in Japan’s Automotive Industry 
  • My First Golden Week of Many: My Story from India to Japan 
• Want to learn more about job hunting in Japan? Check out our other career guides and subscribe to our Career Guide Monthly Newsletter. We’ll let you know when the next webinar will be!   

If you’re currently pursuing working in Japan

• Are you a mid-career applicant? FAST OFFER International’s mid-career program is currently on pause, but you should still check out our career guides for tips and sign up for the Monthly Career Guide Newsletter to stay updated on possible opportunities in the future. 
• Need help learning Japanese? FAST OFFER International offers free Japanese classes for global talents who are university students or recent graduates with specific degrees designed to ready students for the Japanese job hunt. Find the free Japanese class that best fits your profile.  
• Need to connect with Japanese companies? Sign up with FAST OFFER International, and we’ll show your profile to vetted promising companies. You’ll find the roster of Japanese companies we work with on our home page. 
• Have trouble acing job interviews? Sign up with FAST OFFER International to be assigned a mentor and career advisor for personalized advice.   
• Want to fly to Japan for in-person job interviews for free? It’s easier to communicate with potential employers at in-person interviews! That’s why FAST OFFER International’s 6-day trip to Japan qualified talents is 100% free. FAST OFFER International pays for the flights, accommodation, and basic transportation. You will only need to pay for food and pocket money for miscellaneous purchases. Qualified talents can take multiple free trips to Japan as long as they still meet the criteria and find companies interested in their profile. We have multiple talents who have experienced going to Japan multiple times. Here’s a story of an Indian talent and another Chinese talent who flew to Japan twice for interviews.