Hi everyone! I’m an early 30s woman about to move to Japan to work in a corporate legal role at a large company. I’ll be based in Osaka and am really excited, but also feeling a bit nervous about the cultural adjustment, especially as a visibly foreign woman in a male-dominated field (I was informed I will be the only expat in the office).
I’ve lived abroad before and deeply respect Japanese culture, but I’ve heard mixed things about gender dynamics in the workplace and the social experience of being a foreign woman there. I just want a realistic picture so I can be mentally and professionally prepared.
If you’re a woman (especially from abroad) who has lived or worked in Japan:
- What has your experience been like in the workplace and day-to-day life?
- Have you felt safe and respected in social and professional settings?
- Any advice you wish you had before moving?
Also—if you know of any women’s communities (online or in-person) that support expat women in Japan, I’d love recommendations!
Thanks so much in advance. I genuinely want to make the most of this opportunity while staying aware and informed.
by ihateithere_365
5 comments
28yo Woman from a western country here. Been here 6 years.
Generally it’s been okay, I’m living with my husband in a suburban area. On the whole, life is pretty chill, we live in a pretty safe family area.
When I was single there were multiple times where I’ve been followed home, followed on the train and touched.
At work, my old workplace did not take any of my work harassment by clients seriously, they would ask me on dates, make innuendos etc.
my other female coworker had one of her clients expose themselves in front of her.
At that time I found it quite scary to go to work and when I complained about the situation, i got told it was my fault I was being harassed, my coworker got told by management they don’t believe her and they failed to take it seriously, but the police kinda did so that was nice at least.
I’ve also been asked pretty personal questions by interviewers for jobs, things like “do you have a bf?, “when are you planning to get married? Are you planning to have a baby?”. It’s very uncomfortable. I got shamed and harassed for taking time off from period pain when it’s even in the labour laws that I’m allowed to.
It all took a toll on my mental health in the end, my industry was very male dominated, so I ended up quitting. Now I’m working freelance.
There’s a lot of women’s communities online and in big city areas, check out at your local ward office.
If I may offer up a datapoint:
30 yr old woman from an East Asian country. Been in Tokyo for 5 years.
– I have experienced no discrimination at work due to my gender. Sometimes the dynamic is inherently awkward when I’m the only female, foreign and young person in a meeting room, addressing a bunch of older, Japanese men. But that can be worked on. In my day-to-day life, I sometimes experience microaggressions (e.g. being told earnestly by a Japanese friend that I need to snatch up some rich guy before I turn 30, or being told that it’s surprising that my mother has a career).
– I feel safe and respected mostly in professional settings. I do think that it’s because I work for a foreign company and there is a zero tolerance policy towards any kind of sexism.
– Try to learn some basic Japanese. Even if you only use English at work. Knowing Japanese will make your day to day life a lot smoother.
I am a female foreign lawyer in Japan. I’ve been a lawyer for 20 years and I started my career as a new grad here in Japan. My career was rough starting out. I’m fluent in Japanese (draft docs in both English and Japanese), so I’ve had no problems with communication, but I started my career in a very male-dominated, very demanding, numbers-driven sector of law and it was hard to adjust from student life to my first job. These days there are support groups like Women in Law Japan and JICN (Japan in-house counsel network) where you can meet people in the industry (though these two are Tokyo specific). I’m very happy with where my career is today. I don’t think my starting off experience would be helpful since I was a baby lawyer when I started my career here, so I was literally treated like the child I was. But I’ve generally never felt unsafe or disrespected at work since becoming a seasoned professional. I’ve had close friendships at every place I’ve worked out, so I’ve never felt socially isolated at work. Except for one awful company I worked at, I’ve generally been offered great opportunities at work and been very valued. But I think the biggest key to my success here has been the language. I think, as a legal professional, it’s incredibly important to invest in our language skills, whether you are level N5 or a native speaker.
Hello! I’m living in Shiga but go to Osaka often, I think that if you’re not familiar with Japanese or the mindset here you might be in for some cultural shock but if you develop a good friend base that can help mitigate that.
As a 25yo white woman working in Osaka – it really is a mixed bag, but leaning positive. I’m also in a male-dominated field with only 3 other foreigners in my company (300+ people), but they’re all Asian and have been living in Japan for long enough to get PR and speak with nearly no accent.
Working culture in Osaka is overall far more chill than Tokyo, so I didn’t have any crazily negative expriences. Everyday life outside of work is amazing, honestly zero complaints. (I’ll focus on the professional aspect since non-professional is kind of a broad category. If you have any more specific questions about social life, dating etc, feel free to shoot me a message.)
Unfortunately, a lot of your professional experience is going to be based on how conventionally attractive you are. For women, it plays an even bigger role than whether you’re foreign or not (in my experience at least). I’m wildly unattractive so I’m always taken seriously and treated like one of the men, but it’s not the case for my good-looking Japanese coworkers. If people think you have a possibility of getting married and quitting your job when you do, they’re not going to respect you as much.
Not much you can do about it either way. If you’re attractive, you’ll probably get questions about your personal life – be vague and change the subject. Getting compliments – humbly shake your head and change the subject. People will drop it at some point.
Your relationship with alcohol is also going to be a big factor. No one is pressuring people to drink anymore, so if you’re not a drinker it’s completely fine to say so, but it is a huge plus if you can hold your liquour. Drinking is still a big part of corporate culture and people often underestimate how much useful work information you can get over drinks. Say yes to drinks even if you’re going to stick to sodas, sometimes it’s boring but it pays off in the long run, even if just to show you’re putting in effort.