Do You Need Japanese for Tech Jobs in Japan?
What Japanese means for graduates and early-career applicants seeking developer jobs in Japan, and how to practice explaining your projects in interviews.
The short answer is technically no: Japanese is not required for every tech job in Japan. However, this does not give the full picture. Seniority, specialization, the type of company and team, where you are applying from, and many other factors can all play a role.
From my own personal experience, being able to speak Japanese is a huge advantage. For a recent graduate, I would work on explaining what you have learned and built while continuing to develop your technical skills. Japanese helps you communicate that evidence; it does not replace it.
This guide focuses on software-development work, especially for graduates and applicants with limited experience applying from overseas. If you already live in Japan, the role-by-role language checks still matter. The job-board counts and individual vacancy examples below are a snapshot from August 25, 2026; check the live listings before applying.
Here are some resources to look over when trying to answer this question. I will give my own personal experience and take at the end.
Where I would start with limited experience
I would check three things together: whether the opening fits your career stage, whether it accepts applications from where you live, and which language you will use in selection and on the team. A no-Japanese vacancy for a senior engineer does not establish a route for a new graduate. Equally, being able to hold a simple Japanese conversation does not establish that you meet an employer’s requirements.
For preparation, choose one university project, personal project, research project, or internship that you can explain honestly. Practice describing its purpose, your own contribution, a difficult problem, how you checked your work, and what you learned. This gives you a concrete speaking task while you investigate suitable graduate, internship, and junior openings.
The overseas job-search guide explains how to check those routes and their eligibility conditions. The sources below help you understand where Japanese fits into that preparation.
Career-tasu’s 2025 employer survey
The Career-tasu survey on international students and highly skilled foreign talent gives a very different view from an English-oriented developer job board.
Career-tasu surveyed 487 major companies in December 2025. It analyzed responses from companies that had experience employing highly skilled foreign workers or planned to do so.
For companies recruiting international students with science backgrounds, 33.0% wanted business-advanced Japanese or higher during selection. That figure increased to 63.1% for the level expected after joining. Across humanities and science recruitment, 87.7% of the companies said their interviews were conducted entirely in Japanese.
The survey also asked employers about problems involving foreign employees. Among the analyzed companies:
- 48.4% said it was difficult to find candidates with the Japanese communication ability they wanted.
- 58.4% identified insufficient Japanese communication inside the company as a problem after hiring.
- 35.3% identified communication with clients in Japanese as a problem.
This is strong evidence that Japanese remains a major hiring and workplace filter across the broader corporate market.
However, the scope matters. The language-level questions focus on international-student recruitment, the respondents were major companies, and the survey was not limited to technology employers. These percentages should not be applied directly to an experienced software engineer applying to an English-first startup. They are most useful as a counterweight to sources that only cover English-friendly jobs.
JASSO’s Job Hunting Guide for International Students
The Japan Student Services Organization’s Job Hunting Guide for International Students 2027 focuses on international students trying to enter Japan’s new-graduate employment system.
Using Career-tasu’s December 2024 employer survey, JASSO reports that communication ability and Japanese-language ability were among the qualities most frequently sought from international students. For science-background candidates, 54.0% of surveyed employers selected communication ability and 52.2% selected Japanese ability. Specialized knowledge was selected by 37.2%.
That comparison is especially interesting because it shows that employers recruiting science graduates were not looking only at technical or academic knowledge. Communication and Japanese were selected more often.
This source is most applicable to international students in Japan using the traditional new-graduate process. It provides useful context for a graduate applying from overseas, but its school-year schedule, local support, and procedures should not be assumed to apply unchanged. Check each employer’s eligibility conditions, interview language, and start date. The comparison also does not mean technical knowledge is unnecessary or that one language level fits every graduate job.
TokyoDev Developer Survey 2025
The TokyoDev Developer Survey 2025 is one of the most directly relevant sources because it surveys international software developers already living and working in Japan.
Among the 920 respondents who answered its workplace-Japanese question, 222 said they never used Japanese at work and 229 said they rarely used it. Even among those who never used Japanese, 40% worked for a company headquartered in Japan. This provides clear evidence that it is possible to work in Japan—and even at a Japan-headquartered company—without using Japanese in your immediate job. TokyoDev current-job results
The survey also shows that this English-speaking market is not necessarily the lowest-paid part of the industry. Respondents who always used English reported median total compensation of ¥10.5 million, compared with ¥5.5 million among those who never used English. However, the always-English group also had more professional experience: a median of eight years instead of four. Employer type, seniority, and international hiring are mixed together, so this should not be read as proof that English causes higher salaries.
TokyoDev itself says there are very few junior-friendly jobs in Japan that require no Japanese. This describes a constraint worth checking, not a reason to judge your entire search against senior advertisements. I would investigate graduate, internship, and junior routes separately and work on Japanese alongside technical preparation.
One important limitation is that TokyoDev serves international developers. Its survey was promoted through TokyoDev, Reddit, LinkedIn, Discord, and similar communities, so it is much more useful for understanding the international developer segment than for estimating the whole Japanese technology market. TokyoDev survey metadata
TokyoDev’s current job listings
The live TokyoDev job board offers a current snapshot of the market specifically aimed at English-speaking developers.
As of August 25, 2026, the site displayed 148 positions. Its No Japanese Required filter displayed 79 positions. The available roles included backend, frontend, security, infrastructure, SRE, data, AI, quality assurance, engineering management, and other specialties.
The same board also contained jobs requiring basic, conversational, business, or fluent Japanese. In some cases, roles at the same employer had different language requirements. That is a useful reminder that the requirement often belongs to the specific team and responsibilities, not only to the company.
These numbers confirm that a real no-Japanese job segment exists. They do not mean that roughly half of all tech jobs in Japan require no Japanese. TokyoDev deliberately selects jobs that are potentially relevant to international developers, so its listings are not a representative sample of the entire country.
Money Forward’s English-speaking engineering organization
Money Forward’s international careers page provides a current example of a Japan-headquartered company that has deliberately reduced Japanese requirements for engineers.
The company says it began an Englishization policy for engineering in 2021. Its recruitment FAQ says that when an engineering job description does not mention a Japanese requirement, Japanese fluency is not required. It also provides Japanese study support, interpretation and translation, visa assistance, and relocation support.
Money Forward’s Talent Forward Strategy 2025 goes further, stating that English is the official language of its engineering organization and that Japanese is not a requirement. Its current careers page says non-Japanese engineers make up 52% of its engineering team when including its global development base.
This is strong company-level evidence that a Japanese technology business can build an engineering organization where people work without Japanese. It also shows what is required behind the scenes: English training for Japanese employees, interpretation and translation, support for international hires, and standardized communication practices.
The limitation is that Money Forward is one company with a deliberate globalization strategy. Its model shows what is possible, not what is normal at every Japanese employer. Applicants must still read each job description because language requirements can differ among roles and subsidiaries.
Mercari’s position-dependent language policy
Mercari’s language policy illustrates a more flexible and role-dependent model.
Mercari says it does not define one official language for the whole company. Japanese and English are both used, and the required level depends on the position and type of work. The company provides language education, interpretation, and translation to help mixed-language teams communicate.
Its engineering recruitment guidance allows candidates to submit applications in English or Japanese. It also warns that particular teams or job types may require a specific language.
Mercari describes language ability in terms of tasks rather than only certificates. At CEFR B2, for example, a person should be able to exchange complex information in their specialty and participate in discussions involving multiple people. At C1, the expectation extends to unfamiliar or abstract topics outside the person’s specialty.
This supports an important distinction: “Japanese required” can mean very different things. One engineer may only need to follow a stand-up and write short status updates. Another may need to negotiate requirements, handle an incident, manage Japanese-speaking colleagues, or explain a product to customers. The title alone does not reveal the communication burden.
Current U-NEXT and GLOBIS job listings
Current Japanese-company postings show the other side of the market.
U-NEXT’s engineering listings include a senior engineering opening asking for business-level Japanese, described as roughly JLPT N2 or above. A server-side role supporting core systems asks for JLPT N1 or equivalent Japanese ability.
GLOBIS’s technology listings include an EdTech quality-assurance role requiring native-level Japanese or JLPT N1 equivalent. The role supports systems used across a Japanese corporate-training business and requires communication with multiple business and development stakeholders.
These are individual postings, not market-wide statistics. Their value is in showing why some technical roles need Japanese even when the programming itself could be done in English. Requirements, specifications, users, business departments, support operations, and customers may all be Japanese-speaking.
The official JLPT explanation
The official Japanese-Language Proficiency Test explanation is useful when interpreting requirements such as “JLPT N2” or “N1 equivalent.”
The JLPT measures language knowledge, reading, and listening. It does not directly test speaking or writing. The official site also states that a score or pass result alone does not fully explain what a person can do in Japanese in real life.
A certificate and an interview conversation therefore answer different questions. Follow any stated certificate requirement, and also prepare to explain your own projects and respond when the interviewer asks for more detail. Do not claim that a JLPT level proves speaking ability or that conversational practice replaces an employer’s formal requirement.
When describing your Japanese, give your formal level if you have one and an honest example of what you can currently do. For example:
- “JLPT N2; I can give a prepared explanation of my university project, but need more practice with unexpected follow-up questions.”
- “No JLPT; I can hold a simple conversation and describe my personal project, but need help with technical vocabulary.”
- “I can explain my internship contribution in Japanese and ask for clarification when I do not understand a question.”
These are illustrative descriptions, not abilities to put on an application unless they are true for you. Try answering “What did you build?”, “Which part did you do?”, and “What would you improve?” without reading a script. That can help you choose a specific practice goal.
JETRO’s guidance for foreign IT professionals
JETRO’s current guidance on working statuses helps separate employer language requirements from immigration requirements.
Foreign IT professionals commonly work under the status of residence called Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (技術・人文知識・国際業務). JETRO’s overview lists relevant education or professional experience, job content, and pay equal to or above what a Japanese worker would receive for comparable work among the main criteria. It does not list Japanese-language proficiency as a general requirement for foreign IT professionals under this status.
This means Japanese can be required by an employer without being a general immigration requirement for the professional IT status. The reverse is also important: receiving an offer for an English-speaking role does not automatically prove that the job and applicant satisfy every immigration criterion.
Immigration decisions depend on individual facts. Applicants should use the Immigration Services Agency or a qualified professional to confirm their own eligibility rather than relying on a general article.
Overall summary of the sources
Taken together, these sources do not support a simple yes-or-no answer.
TokyoDev, Money Forward, and Mercari show that English-speaking engineering work in Japan is real. Some Japan-headquartered companies have invested in English documentation, interviews, interpretation, training, and international recruiting. Experienced engineers in backend, infrastructure, SRE, security, data, AI, and other specialized areas can find roles that do not require Japanese.
Career-tasu, JASSO, U-NEXT, and GLOBIS show that this is only one part of the market. Japanese remains deeply embedded in new-graduate hiring, domestic business operations, customer communication, internal coordination, and many individual engineering teams. It becomes more important when a candidate is junior, targets domestic-facing employers, or takes on work that crosses the boundary between engineering and the rest of the company.
The JLPT and JETRO sources clarify two common misunderstandings. A JLPT certificate is a useful signal but not a complete test of workplace communication. Japanese is also not listed as a general immigration requirement for the usual professional IT status, even though employers may make it a hiring requirement.
The most defensible overall conclusion is:
You do not technically need Japanese for every tech job in Japan. However, Japanese can dramatically expand the number and type of jobs available to you, and its value depends on your experience, specialization, target employers, location, and the communication responsibilities of the role.
My ending summary
Although there are opportunities that do not require Japanese, I would still give the language a high priority, especially if you are preparing for your first developer job in Japan. I would work on it alongside technical skills and applications to suitable roles, rather than waiting for one part of the preparation to be finished before starting the others.
I know from experience that the language barrier can make companies apprehensive about hiring internationally. Having a good grasp of Japanese can help you show that you can ask questions, explain your thinking, and work with the team. It is a huge advantage, but it does not replace the technical requirements of the role or guarantee an offer.
If most of your experience comes from university or personal projects, that is where I would start practicing. Explain what you built, what you handled yourself, what went wrong, and what you learned. You do not need to make a small project sound like a large production system. I would much rather hear a clear explanation of something you understand.
I would put regular time into speaking and listening so that you can answer follow-up questions and ask for clarification. I would also keep working on the reading and writing needed for your applications, job descriptions, tests, and messages. Use the actual selection process to guide your preparation. Passing a test and handling a conversation are both worth working on when the role needs them.
Beyond interviews, Japanese can make it easier to build relationships and handle everyday life after the move. For me, that is another strong reason to keep learning. A useful next step is to choose one project explanation you want to improve and practice it in a real conversation.
If you can already hold a simple conversation in Japanese, you can request a Japanese interview practice session with me. Bring a university project, personal project, or internship experience. In 45 minutes, we can practice explaining your contribution and answering follow-up questions, with personalized corrections and notes to continue practicing afterward. The session is available whether you are applying from overseas or already in Japan.