Articles and posts related to living in Japan, by Paul Roberts, a Tokyo-based tech recruiter.
Paul: Maki Özer is a familiar figure to many in Japan’s tech startup scene. She recently cofounded Pulsar Innovations to contribute more directly to the startup community here. Maki and I … Read more
Paul: Ved Kamat is a bilingual solopreneur offering AI-first project and product management consulting in Japan. Ved and I spoke about his unique childhood, transitioning from software engineering into project … Read more
Introduction Maybe you’ve dreamed of living and working in Japan but have been unable to find a job here. Or maybe you just couldn’t fit everything you wanted to do … Read more
Somewhere to live, somewhere to work If you’re coming to Japan on the Japan Digital Nomad Visa, you’ll need a place to live and perhaps other services, such as a … Read more
Paul: Cameron Long is a software engineer and co-founder of the legal tech startup Jora AI. Cameron and I spoke about his pivot from mechanical to software engineering, his early … Read more
Paul: Jenessa Carder is a CX transformation specialist, an inclusive designer, a multicultural thinker, and most recently, an author. Jenessa and I spoke about her unique identity in Japan, shifting … Read more
Paul: Kaido Chiwata is a co-founder of BillPay, a Tokyo-based billing solution for foreign companies entering the Japanese market. Kaido and I spoke about how he went from bullied returnee … Read more
Finding your first job can be challenging – entry-level job hunting in Japan comes with its own unique hurdles. This guide is written for new graduates, bootcamp graduates, and career … Read more
Are basic resume mistakes losing you the interview opportunities you deserve? You’re applying for jobs in Japan but not getting interviews. There can be multiple reasons for this, and one … Read more
Paul: Shane Brown is a Tokyo-based product manager and designer, as well as the founder of Thinkers Social Club, a space for high quality conversations about life’s most universal problems. … Read more
Paul: Janak Bhimani is a Yokohama-based brand strategist and a graduate of the Keio University Graduate School of Media Design. Janak and I spoke about his early life in New … Read more
Paul: Tarek Alkhaldi is the founder of nexCraft Design, an experience design studio based in Tokyo. Tarek and I spoke about how his interest in psychology led him from software … Read more
Paul: Lee Jean is a Kamakura-based entrepreneur and host of the Produck Podcast, where he dives into the world of product management and startups in Japan. Lee and I spoke about … Read more
Money, Money, Money Money. “Can’t buy me love,” sang the Beatles. But very useful for rent, snacks, conveyor belt sushi, and trips to the onsen. No wonder questions about software … Read more
Writing a resume for an IT job in Japan Having a great resume can be a key factor in successfully landing a job in Japan. I’ve read thousands of resumes … Read more
The J-Skip Visa: An Overview The J-Skip visa is one of two new visas introduced in Japan in 2023 (the other being the J-Find visa). These visas aim to attract … Read more
Paul: Duc Doba is the founder and CEO of Tokyo Techies, a one-stop IT consulting firm that focuses on Data Science & AI, Cybersecurity, Robotics, and Software Development. Duc and … Read more
The J-Find Visa: An Overview Japan introduced the J-Find visa as one of two new visas in 2023 (the other being the J-Skip visa). These visas aim to attract more … Read more
This is a different post from my usual fare. It’s nothing to do with finding a tech job in Japan, improving your resume, or a profile of an interesting engineer … Read more
Finding long-term housing in Japan can be a daunting task, especially for newcomers. In this guest post, Graham Hill offers valuable tips and insider knowledge to help you navigate Tokyo’s … Read more
Paul: Joe Baz is a highly accomplished product design leader who moved to Japan with his family in 2023. Joe and I talked about his early career in the US, … Read more
Paul: Tyrone Ranson is a self-taught freelance software engineer based in Tokyo and the founder of DevIppo, a community for freelance software engineers in Japan. Tyrone and I spoke about … Read more
Paul: Matt and I met in 2007 when he was a newly arrived job hunter in Tokyo. 17 years later, Matt and I spoke about his career in technology and … Read more
Paul: Annie Hoang is a Vietnamese UI/UX designer living in Tokyo. Annie and I spoke about developing her interest in UX while studying in Canada, how an internship at Rakuten … Read more
Paul: Michael Stobo is a senior product management leader who has successfully launched and grown products across Asia Pacific, EMEA, and Latin America. We spoke about his beginnings in product … Read more
Paul: Bukky Adejobi is a co-founder of Awa’Tori, promoting the creative industry in Africa & Japan through fashion, art & music. She’s also a career coach and the co-founder of … Read more
Paul: Alvin Leonard is the CTO of SmartRyde, a Tokyo-based startup providing airport transfers to travellers around the world. Alvin and I spoke about his early career as a software … Read more
Paul: Aidan and I first connected after she graduated from Le Wagon’s coding bootcamp in 2021. Our conversation today covers a wide range of topics, from her time at university … Read more
Paul: Philippe Khin is the Tokyo-based founder of SewaYou, an app that helps you easily find language partners in your area. Philippe and I talked about him coming to Japan … Read more
Paul: James Balcombe pivoted his career from international school computer science teacher to software engineer at a startup in Tokyo. James and I spoke about his early interest in computers, … Read more
Paul: Jayson Cunanan moved to Japan from the Philippines in 2011 to follow his dream of using higher education to find a better life. Jayson and I spoke about his … Read more
Paul: Drew Terry is the founder of OpenSalary.jp, a website promoting salary transparency for the tech community in Japan. Drew and I spoke about starting his career as a software … Read more
Paul: Raymond Murphy is a creator and marketing creative who first arrived in Japan in 2004. He launched ‘Cnota Gaelach’, a Tokyo-based Irish apparel brand in 2021. Raymond and I … Read more
Paul: John Rajeski is an aspiring people / data analyst, a recent global educator, and a former Silicon Valley start-up co-founder. John and I spoke about his early career in … Read more
Paul: With 15+ years experience in Product Management, Arnout Hemel’s team at Grab in Singapore grew GrabInsure into one of the largest InsureTechs in South East Asia. Arnout relocated to … Read more
Paul: Originally from the UK, Lawrie moved to Tokyo in 2018 to work as a software engineer at Mercari, the Japanese marketplace unicorn. Lawrie is now at travel tech startup … Read more
Paul: Tanmay Goel is a Tokyo-based product manager and organiser in the product management community here, with a background as an international student & entrepreneur, and interests including tech, the … Read more
Paul: A recent introduction to Miho Tanaka from Sasha at Le Wagon Tokyo was a case of perfect timing, as I’d just been reading about Miho’s work at Startup Welcome … Read more
Paul: Greg Jeanneau is a talented UI/UX designer who moved to Tokyo from his native France in January of this year. We talk about Greg’s background as an engineer, his … Read more
Paul: Sylvain Pierre is an entrepreneur, co-founder of the Le Wagon Tokyo coding bootcamp, and Tokyo resident since 2016. We talk about how Sylvain got into entrepreneurship, his experiences in … Read more
Paul: I met Andrew Bishop way back in 2000 when we worked together in the IT recruiting team at PANACHE, a Tokyo-based technology, staffing and services company. We’ve been friends … Read more
Paul: I met Misha Yurchenko for the first time a couple of years ago after coming across his excellent newsletter (you can find it and more of his writing at … Read more
I recently had the pleasure of speaking with Lydia Beukelman, a US-based corporate Japanese instructor, for her ‘Business Success Japan’ podcast. We spoke about culture, burnout and life in Japan. … Read more
Paul: James Ryland and I met at 8:25 am on Monday, November 15th, 1999. I remember the date and time well as it was my first day of work in … Read more
Paul: Ji Youn Yoo is an in-house recruiter at Google’s Tokyo office in Shibuya Stream. We worked together a few years ago in the IT team of a recruiting agency … Read more
Paul: Gerard Noakes is an in-house recruiter at Indeed’s Tokyo office. We met in the summer of 2016 when Gerard joined the recruiting agency I was working at. His first … Read more
Paul: Andy Hall is an indie game developer, originally from the US. Now living in Kawasaki, Japan, Andy and I met in early 2000, when Andy joined a Tokyo-based IT … Read more
I originally wrote this piece for LinkedIn and it received far more exposure than anything else I’ve ever written for the platform (almost 40,000 feed views so far). The topic … Read more