The Atarashift Blog
Insights for working in Japan
Guides, interviews, and honest advice for international talent building a career in Japan.
The Atarashift Blog
Guides, interviews, and honest advice for international talent building a career in Japan.
Benjamin Inc. just joined Atarashift as a hiring partner and won AWS's Rising Star Consulting Partner of the Year award for Japan. Two roles open now in Tokyo: Project Manager and Software Engineer.
We're happy to introduce Benjamin Inc. (株式会社ベンジャミン) as the newest hiring partner on Atarashift. They're a Tokyo based AWS and Salesforce consultancy with a second office in Hanoi, they're hiring for two roles on Atarashift right now, Project Manager and Software Engineer, and they just picked up some serious hardware: Rising Star Consulting Partner of the Year for Japan at AWS's 2026 regional partner awards.
If you're looking for a Japan based tech employer that already has a real international team, not just a line in the recruiting deck about it, keep reading.
Benjamin builds and runs cloud systems for its clients. Founded in June 2017 by just three people in Tokyo's Nihonbashi neighborhood, the company has grown into a team that works on:
They're an Advanced Tier AWS partner, a level only about 90 companies in Japan hold, and they recently became the fourth company in the country (and the first at Advanced Tier) to earn the AWS Generative AI Competency. Clients include Konica Minolta and Iwasaki Electric. Around 90 percent of their projects are prime contracts, meaning Benjamin works straight with the client instead of a few layers down a subcontracting chain.
From three founders in 2017, the company has grown to around 100 client companies and 150 partner organizations today, according to CEO Jun Kawajiri.
On April 27, 2026, AWS announced its regional 2026 Partner of the Year awards for Japan. Four companies won:
The Rising Star category goes to AWS consulting partners with standout year over year growth, basically AWS's way of saying "watch this company." Benjamin's own reaction, posted on their site: they were honored to be featured on the official AWS blog and plan to keep supporting clients' business challenges through generative AI.
The question most people actually want answered before they move to a new company in Japan: will I be working with other foreign staff, or will I be the only one?
At Benjamin, the honest answer is grounded in real numbers. The company runs two offices, 41 people in Tokyo and 15 at Benjamin Vietnam in Hanoi, and across the group, 39.2 percent of employees are foreign nationals.
Benjamin also runs what it calls a "resort work" system: full remote work available anywhere in Japan, flexible hours, and the option to work from abroad. CEO Jun Kawajiri, who co-founded the company with Satoshi Ahara, had previously worked as a project manager and engineer at a major IT firm and a domestic systems integrator before starting Benjamin in 2017.
Benjamin's stated mission is to become "the world's happiest place for engineers." Big claim, so here's what backs it up:
We asked Ikehata Nobuyuki, who leads Benjamin's Global project group, a few direct questions for anyone considering the move.
For a foreign engineer joining Benjamin, what does the actual day-to-day look like?
"We have a morning online meeting every day to talk about current and upcoming projects, plus company updates, all in English. From there, you communicate with your project members mainly in Japanese or English depending on the task. Most of our members work remotely, so the main tools are Slack, Google Meet, and Backlog, though we do meet at the office sometimes too. Some members go back to their hometown once a year for a couple of months to work from there, and you can arrange that depending on the project you're on."
What Japanese level do you actually need to function here?
"N2 level is preferred, but not required. Japanese matters because our clients are Japanese, and you'll sometimes need to explain your technical approach to them directly. Our members speak both English and Japanese, so they can support you in the meantime, and you'll have plenty of chances to pick up Japanese as you go."
For someone deciding between Benjamin and a bigger SIer, what's the actual pitch?
"At Benjamin, you get to work directly with clients and business owners in Japan. You can take ownership of technical decisions and try new technology as you see fit. We also give direct product feedback to AWS, and their team sometimes visits Japan in person to collect it. We have a close relationship with AWS."
Ikehata added one more thing, unprompted: "Speaking for the Global group I run, our goal is to work on IT projects with teammates from all over the world, not just Japan. We'd love for foreign engineers and PMs to stay part of the Benjamin team even after they eventually move back home, and keep working on projects together from there. So we're also looking for people who share that mindset."
Benjamin has two roles live on Atarashift right now:
Both are full-time and visa sponsorship is available for both. These two roles are hybrid out of the Tokyo office, not fully remote, worth knowing given Ikehata's point above about most day-to-day communication happening online anyway. More roles may follow as Benjamin builds out its presence on Atarashift.
Is Benjamin Inc. hiring through Atarashift?
Yes, Benjamin is now one of our hiring partners. They have two live roles right now: Project Manager and Software Engineer, both based in Tokyo.
Does Benjamin hire people outside Japan?
Yes. They run an office in Hanoi, Vietnam (Benjamin Vietnam, 15 staff) alongside their 41 person Tokyo office, and 39.2 percent of employees across the group are foreign nationals.
Does Benjamin sponsor visas?
Yes, confirmed directly with Benjamin for both the Project Manager and Software Engineer roles.
What Japanese level do I need?
It depends on the role. The Project Manager listing asks for business-level English and Japanese. The Software Engineer listing doesn't require English at all, just conversational Japanese. Ikehata's N2 guidance above reflects the wider team norm rather than either specific listing.
What technologies does Benjamin work with?
Mainly AWS (Advanced Tier partner with the AWS Generative AI Competency) and Salesforce, plus custom system development and generative AI work built on Amazon Bedrock.
What is the Rising Star Consulting Partner of the Year award?
One of four regional 2026 AWS Partner of the Year categories for Japan, announced April 27, 2026, recognizing AWS consulting partners with standout year over year growth. Benjamin was Japan's winner in this category.
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