Thinking of moving to Japan for a job

26 comments

1. Is this bait? The median salary in Tokyo is like 4-5 million yen per year.

2. They hired your as the CEO?

3. I think you’re very aware that this is an incredibly high income, more than the vast majority of people in Japan earn.

4. That sound like a really good deal! The salary they are offering you is way higher than the average salary in Tokyo or Osaka, you can definitely live comfortably.

   The work-life balance is definitely dependent on what kind of company it is, if its a foreign company based in Japan then there is a good chance that you will do just fine; if is a japanese company then all I can say is all the luck to you, Japan is definitely not known for having a good work-life balance.

   And for the language part, you will definitely have a hard time fitting in initially if you dont speak japanese, but as long as you are willing to learn, then all it takes is time.

   Personally I would choose to work and live in Osaka in comparison to Tokyo, mostly because I found that people from Osaka are more straight forward and approachable than people from Tokyo, but that could just be me having grown up in rural Canada lol.

   Edit: Oh you are way off with the salary, ¥3,600,000 and ¥4,300,000 is definitely not enough to live comfortable in Tokyo in my opinion, that is really low for software engineer with (presumably) years of experience

5. 30k usd for a software engineer on the high end. I know it’s cheaper to live in Japan but still. They’re playing you with that number. Furthermore, if this is a Japanese company they’re notoriously bad with work life balance.

   If I were you, I would push for a higher salary. But go through with this if you REAAAAALLY want to live and work in Japan, and they fully fund your relocation. I’m seeing they will do plane tickets but what about your stuff?

6. Is the company’s name the one that starts with “R” and ends with “N”? Also, is it a Japanese one where only English is required?

7. As someone who just worked for a manufacturing company in Japan for 2 years before returning to the US, I would stay away from Japan if you’re working in the STEM fields. Much better career opportunities elsewhere. Japan underpays too much for engineers, and at first I tried not to care (I was similar salary range) but the workload/office politics was not worth it. If you just want to go for the experience of living in Japan, yes that’s a good enough salary (I mean it’s the average) but after a while it sucks to not be paid enough to travel around and go home often (getting vacation time over 1 week is another story, especially for traditional companies). Maybe look up and ask people who work at the company for their insights?

8. Is this really a typical software engineering salary now? My salary was about 2x that in Tokyo 30 years ago and the yen was much stronger then. It wasn’t a Japanese company though.

9. It surprise me how low software engineering pays in Japan, according to Google this offer would be more on the new graduate level.

10. 30M Japanese here, worked in Tokyo as a Software developer until 2 years ago. It’s not a very high salary to be honest, and in Tokyo (at least how I remember it from 2 years ago) you won’t be struggling to survive but it won’t be very comfortable either. The numbers you’ve listed are close to my starting salary when I graduated uni at 22. I’m not sure how much experience you have, but for example with 5 years experience much more should be possible, like 6,000,000 or more. At least that’s how it was for a Japanese citizen, maybe it’s different for foreigners.

11. Are you from a developing country? That salary is a joke in Tokyo.

12. That is super low for your age and presumed experience as a software engineer. You should be looking at places that offer at least 8m+. I wouldn’t take that unless you’re very new in your career 

13. Osaka is more affordable than Tokyo, and the city is not overwhelmingly big. I’m tired of long commutes all my life so Tokyo is too much. I like visiting, but wouldn’t be my first option for living, that being said, the city is super clean and there’s always some panorama, there’s almost anything and everything if you look for it. If you like big metropolis, Tokyo is good.

    If you don’t like huge cities, Osaka is just the right size, it’s not as “perfect” as Tokyo but people are friendlier and rent is cheaper. Food-wise, there’s great food in both Tokyo and Osaka

14. Moving to Osaka with 4.3m yen salary will be alot more comfortable than moving to Tokyo tbh. 4.3m yen in tokyo whilst completely doable, you won’t have much room for fun or savings.

15. If that’s what they’re offering live in Osaka much cheaper way more chill nicer people.

16. Tech Recruiter here.

    **Thoughts on Salary (3.6 – 4.3 mil)**

    I think everyone is focusing too much on this part.

    Anyone can tell you that salary is low, but I would say it’s not the lowest. The English-only market here is highly competitive, with supply far exceeding demand. So, with that in mind 4.3 million isn’t the worst salary I’ve seen.

    **Cost of Living**

    Rent – 60,000 yen per month for a cheaper place (Osaka prices)

    Food – 50,000 yen per month (I aim for 500 yen/meal when cooking at home)

    Utilities/Random expenses: 15,000/month

    Transportation (outside of work): 10,000/month at most

    Total Necessary expenditures: 135,000/month

    If you use the handy [https://japantaxcalculator.com/](https://japantaxcalculator.com/) it estimates you should be making around 250,000/month+ after tax.

    So around 100,000/month+ for savings/personal expenses. Not the best but some people think it’s worth it.

    **Your Future Here**

    The real consideration here should be your future. Will you have a better opportunity to come to Japan, get a working visa, and have the proper support to learn Japanese? I don’t think so. This is a golden ticket in my eyes.

    Sure, there are better jobs out there at Rakuten or Mercari or PayPay. But as we say in America “A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.” which means “it’s better to be content with what you have than to risk losing everything by seeking to get more.”

    I did a similar thing but I came here to teach English, and studied Japanese in my free time. After around 2.5 years of concentrated study, I passed N1 and moved on with my career.

    So, if you move here, study Japanese to a decent level and improve your software skills, there is a career here. In 5 years, you’ll probably make around 6-7 million yen. In 10 years, it might be 10 mil+.

    (Speaking from what I see in the market. I’m not a fortune teller, just saying what I’ve seen from other candidates that took a similar path.)

    **Tokyo or Osaka?**

    Osaka is better in my biased opinion. Better cost of living, lots of things to do, Osaka people are friendlier on average, etc.

    I’d also say that foreigners are more integrated into “Japan” here. I see a lot of people living in bubbles in Tokyo. There are a lot of foreigners in Osaka, but I always feel like they are a bit more active in Japanese/local communities rather than staying in expat circles. That’s just my personal feeling with lots of outliers and exceptions, but I stand by it for the most part.

    Sorry, kind of a long comment. I am a recruiting nerd so I love talking about things like this. I hope it helps!

17. It’s more than what I earn and I’m very comfortable in Tokyo. It really depends where in Tokyo you live though, 13 wards will be expensive, but you can give yourself an ok commute each day and cut down on rent significantly. I’m a JET so beyond that I can’t really comment on work life balance though because my role gives me probably the best I’ll ever see.

    Also software engineering was my major, I eventually want to move into this sector too, so if you take it I want to hear about it later!

18. That’s super low. If you’re ok with earning slightly more than minimum wage, then yes. Osaka’s cost of living is cheaper than Tokyo.

19. Two questions:

    1. Will they perhaps cover your rent?
    2. Is that inclusive of bonus? (I’m assuming yes for now)

    I personally think you’ll need to live very frugally with that amount unless either rent is covered or it is exclusive of bonus then it’s much more doable. I understand your position but if those are not the case, you won’t enjoy living in Japan. Work-life is already non-existent here and if you add to that not having peace of mind on finances then your mental health would definitely take a hit.

    As people also pointed out, this will be more doable in Osaka though. So if you have no other choice and want to pursue this, I’d suggest choosing Osaka if you have a choice.

20. Now, with the zero removed, it’s quite low for this kind of job. In order to have some serenity, I’d recommend targeting at least 6M¥ a year

21. If you do end up doing it choose Osaka because Tokyo is more expensive but on top of that in Osaka you have access to nature and you can go visit a lot more places compared to Tokyo and Tokyo as a concrete jungle. I would say think about what you want to do on a day to day basis and maybe you have 1 or 2 nights out where you want to have fun. Nightlife is incredible in Tokyo and so is Osaka but Osaka is more of a bar scene and it’s very different and keep in mind the people in both of the cities are very different.

22. That amount is totally doable (especially if you don’t have any dependants), it’s higher than most Japanese make. Be sure to plan your budget, of course!

23. 5M in Osaka wouldn’t be too bad. You’ll have plenty of fun times if you move here I think.

24. So to be clear you’re getting 36-43m right? Because you missed a zero?

    That is a perfectly fine salary. You’ll be able to get a great apartment or even buy a house with that money without a problem. Jaoan is very cheap. I’m assuming you’re a senior SWE. Just know there isn’t much more room to grow above that either in career or salary. I hope you’re also getting RSUs.

25. Osaka!
    Hahaha, not because I live in Osaka.
    But Osaka people are more friendly than Tokyo.
    Also, less crowd than in Tokyo.
    I mean it’s crowded too because it’s a city, but compare to Tokyo, I think Osaka is the best.

    Also, cost of living in Osaka much more cheaper than in Tokyo. ☺️

26. probably not a good idea unless you plan to stay in Japan permanently. normally salary with some experience is more in the range of 7-10 mil

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