Got a job offer in Tokyo but HR doesn’t know how to handle COE/work visa and asked me to do it – is this a red flag?

Hi all,

I recently got a job offer from a company in Tokyo for a finance role with a base salary close to 10 million yen. I just had my first conversation with their HR team.

When I asked about the Certificate of Eligibility (COE), which is needed to apply for a work visa, they seemed unsure about the process. To make things more confusing, they asked me to handle the visa application myself — which, as far as I understand, is usually the employer’s responsibility in Japan.

This has raised some red flags for me. Is it common for companies hiring foreigners to be this unprepared? Or could this be a sign that they haven't sponsored foreign workers before and might not know what they're doing?

Should I push forward and hope they figure it out, or is this the kind of thing that suggests I should be looking for a more experienced employer?
Would really appreciate any advice or insights!