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.
87.9% of Japanese companies interview foreign candidates entirely in Japanese. Here are the questions they ask, and what they are actually scoring.
A Japanese job interview is more scripted than most Western interviews. You will be asked to introduce yourself (自己紹介), explain why you want this specific company (志望動機), and describe your strengths (自己PR). Then you ask questions of your own (逆質問). As a foreign candidate you get two extra questions: why Japan, and how long you plan to stay. And it will probably all happen in Japanese. Among Japanese companies hiring foreign students, 87.9% run the interview entirely in Japanese.
That last number is the one most people underestimate. The questions themselves are predictable. What catches foreign candidates out is the format, the language, and the scoring. Japanese interviewers weigh things that never appear on a Western scorecard.
Key Takeaways
- 87.9% of Japanese companies interview foreign candidates entirely in Japanese, even when the job itself is not Japanese-heavy.
- The core four questions are 自己紹介 (self-introduction), 志望動機 (motivation), 自己PR (strengths), and 逆質問 (your questions). Prepare all four verbatim.
- Mid-career hiring averages 2.2 interview rounds: two rounds in 67% of cases, three in 25%.
- Companies rank communication ability (59.3%) and Japanese ability (55.9%) as the top two qualities they want from foreign hires, above specialist knowledge.
- Foreign students had a 45.6% offer rate by July, against 87.3% for domestic students. The gap is largely a preparation and process gap, not a talent gap.
- Expect "why Japan?" and "how long will you stay?". Vague answers here sink otherwise strong candidates.
Japanese hiring runs on rounds, and each round has a different audience. For mid-career (中途採用) roles, the average is 2.2 interviews, with two rounds in 67% of hires and three in 25%. Only 6% of people get hired after a single interview.
A typical sequence looks like this:
| Round | Who you meet | What they are testing |
|---|---|---|
| First (一次面接) | HR or a junior manager | Basic fit, Japanese level, whether your story holds together |
| Second (二次面接) | The hiring manager or department head | Technical ability, how you would work with the team |
| Final (最終面接) | An executive or company director | Commitment, long-term intent, whether they want you in the company |
New graduate hiring (新卒採用) is longer and more formal. It often adds written aptitude tests (筆記・適性検査), group discussions, and multiple screening layers before you reach a real conversation. Foreign students applying for 2026 graduation had interviewed at an average of 10.6 companies by July, on top of 25.6 entry sheets submitted and 18.6 written tests taken.
The final round is not a formality. In Japan it is usually where an executive decides whether you are someone the company wants for years, not months. Answers about commitment matter more there than answers about skills.
Japanese, in almost all cases. In the most recent company survey, 87.9% of employers said they conduct the entire interview in Japanese when hiring foreign students, and 81.2% do the same for aptitude tests. Only about 2% run selection mainly or entirely in a foreign language.
There is a second layer to this. The Japanese level companies expect rises after you join. At the offer stage, 47.5% of companies want business-upper level Japanese or better from humanities candidates. Once you are inside the company, that jumps to 70.3%. Science and engineering candidates see the same pattern: 44.1% at offer, 67.5% after joining.
So the interview bar is lower than the on-the-job bar. Companies know this and hire people they expect to improve. If your Japanese is decent but not fluent, that matters. The interview is the easier of the two hurdles, and a credible improvement plan is part of a good answer.
Foreign-capital companies and English-first tech teams are the exception, and they do exist in real numbers. If your Japanese is not interview-ready, target those roles deliberately rather than hoping a Japanese-language interview goes well. Our guide on working in Japan without speaking Japanese covers where those roles concentrate.
These are the standard set. Prepare each one out loud, in Japanese, until you can deliver it without reading.
This is usually the opening line, phrased as 自己紹介をお願いします. It is not small talk. It sets the frame for everything that follows.
Keep it to 30 to 60 seconds. Cover your name, your education or current role, one or two concrete things you have done, and one sentence connecting you to this company. Do not narrate your whole CV. The interviewer has it in front of them.
A common mistake is treating this as a personality question. In Japan it is a professional summary. Save the personal detail for later, unless it is directly relevant.
This is the highest-weighted question in most Japanese interviews, and the one where generic answers do the most damage. "I want to grow" and "I like your company culture" are non-answers.
A strong 志望動機 names something specific about the company: a product, a market it is entering, a business unit, a stated strategy. Then it connects that to something specific you have done. The structure is: what the company is doing, why that matters to you, what you bring to it.
Research depth is visible here. Interviewers can tell within one sentence whether you read the company website or the mid-term business plan.
自己PR is your pitch for what you are good at, backed by an example. Pick one strength, not three. Give a situation, what you did, and what changed as a result.
The weakness question (短所) is asked seriously and expects a real answer. The convention is to name a genuine weakness, then describe the concrete thing you do to manage it. Answers like "I work too hard" read as evasive. Answers like "I used to move ahead without confirming with the team, so now I send a written summary before starting" read as self-aware.
This one is aimed at you specifically. Japanese employers ask it because they are trying to work out whether Japan is a serious career decision or a two-year adventure.
Anime, food, and travel are honest answers and weak ones. They describe a visitor, not an employee. Better answers connect Japan to your professional trajectory: the industry, the market position, the specific type of work that exists here and not at home. If you have already lived in Japan, studied the language for years, or built a life here, say so plainly. Evidence of commitment beats enthusiasm.
A direct follow-up to the previous question, and a real concern for employers. Sponsoring a visa, onboarding, and training a foreign hire is a multi-year investment.
You do not need to promise a lifetime. You do need to sound settled. Among foreign students job hunting in Japan, 51.4% say they want to work here as long as possible, and employers are looking for that same signal. If your honest answer is "at least five years, and I am building my life here", say it that way.
For mid-career candidates, this is the trap question. Japanese interviewers are alert to candidates who leave over conflict, and criticising your current employer reads badly even when the criticism is fair.
Frame it forward, not backward. What you want to do next, and why this role provides it. If there is a genuine push factor, describe it in neutral terms. The scope of the work, the direction of the business, or a skill you cannot develop where you are.
If you are changing jobs while on a work visa, you will also need to handle the practical side. See our guide on transferring your work visa when you change jobs.
Answer with evidence, not adjectives. Name your JLPT level if you have one, then describe what you can actually do at work: run a meeting, write email, read documentation, handle a client call.
Be honest. Overstating your level produces a bad first month, and Japanese interviewers usually test it during the conversation anyway. If your Japanese is mid-level, pair the honest assessment with what you are doing about it.
Not optional. Saying 特にありません ("nothing in particular") is read as a lack of interest, and it is one of the most common unforced errors foreign candidates make.
Prepare three or four questions. Good ones ask about the work: how the team is structured, what the first six months look like, how performance is evaluated, what the department is trying to change this year. Weak ones ask what you could have found on the website.
Hold salary and holiday questions until an offer is close, unless the interviewer raises them first. When the time does come, our guide to salary negotiation in Japan covers how that conversation usually goes.
The published data on this is clearer than most candidates realise. When companies were asked what qualities they want from foreign hires, the top two were the same for humanities and science candidates:
| Quality companies want | Humanities | Science / engineering |
|---|---|---|
| Communication ability | 59.3% | 54.0% |
| Japanese ability | 55.9% | 52.2% |
| Specialist knowledge | 10.2% | 37.2% |
| Basic academic ability | 25.4% | 23.9% |
| Cooperativeness (協調性) | 21.2% | 21.2% |
Read that table carefully. For humanities and business roles, specialist knowledge is chosen by only 10.2% of companies. Communication and Japanese are chosen by more than half. The interview is largely a test of whether you can operate in a Japanese-language workplace, not a test of your domain expertise.
The mirror image shows up in what employers say is hard. The single most cited hiring challenge, chosen by 52.3% of companies, is that too few candidates have the Japanese communication ability they want. That is the gap you are being measured against.
Candidates see it too. 80.6% of foreign students say Japanese companies demand high Japanese ability, and the most common worry, cited by 45.6%, is simply whether their Japanese will be understood.
The clearest argument for preparing properly is the offer data. Among students graduating in March 2026, 45.6% of foreign students had an offer by July, against 87.3% of domestic students. That gap has been consistent for years.
Some of it is timing. Foreign students start job hunting later than domestic students, who begin more than a year before graduation. Some of it is the entry sheet and written test stages, which are heavy Japanese-language filters before any human meets you.
But part of it is process knowledge, and that part is fixable. One number makes the case: foreign students who had done an internship or company program had a 54.5% offer rate, while those who applied to none sat at 37.0%. Familiarity with how Japanese companies run their process is worth roughly 17 percentage points.
If you are starting from zero on the process, the full guide to getting a job in Japan as a foreigner walks through the whole sequence, and the Japanese resume format guide covers the rirekisho and shokumu keirekisho you will be asked for before any interview.
Japanese interviews carry formal conventions. None of them will win you the job alone, but breaking several of them creates an impression that is hard to reverse.
What questions are asked in a Japanese job interview?
The standard set is 自己紹介 (introduce yourself), 志望動機 (why this company), 自己PR (your strengths), 長所・短所 (strengths and weaknesses), 転職理由 (why you are leaving your current job, for mid-career candidates), and 逆質問 (your questions for them). Foreign candidates are also asked why they chose Japan and how long they intend to stay.
Are Japanese job interviews conducted in Japanese?
Almost always. In the most recent survey of Japanese employers hiring foreign students, 87.9% conduct the interview entirely in Japanese, and only around 2% run it mainly in a foreign language. Foreign-capital firms and English-first tech teams are the main exceptions.
How many interview rounds are there in Japan?
For mid-career hiring, the average is 2.2 rounds. Two rounds happen in 67% of cases and three in 25%. New graduate hiring is longer and typically adds aptitude tests, entry sheets, and group stages before the interview rounds.
What Japanese level do I need for a job interview in Japan?
It depends on the employer, but 47.5% of companies want business-upper level Japanese or better from humanities candidates at the offer stage, rising to 70.3% once you have joined. JLPT N2 is a common practical floor, and N1 is standard among successful foreign student candidates.
How do I answer "why do you want to work in Japan?"
Connect Japan to your career, not to your interests. Name the industry, the market, or the specific kind of work that exists here. Show evidence of commitment such as language study, time already spent in Japan, or a long-term plan. Avoid answers built on hobbies or travel.
Should I ask questions at the end of a Japanese interview?
Yes. 逆質問 is expected, and saying you have no questions is treated as a lack of interest. Prepare three or four questions about the team, the role, the first six months, or how performance is evaluated. Leave salary and holiday questions until an offer is close.
What should I wear to a job interview in Japan?
A dark suit, white shirt, and minimal accessories, for both new graduate and mid-career interviews. Japanese hiring convention is conservative, and dressing down is a larger risk than dressing up, even at companies with a casual daily dress code.
Sources: キャリタス／DISCO, 外国人留学生／高度外国人材の採用に関する企業調査 (December 2024 survey, 486 responding companies); キャリタス／DISCO, 2026年卒 外国人留学生の就職活動に関する調査 (published August 2025, 283 respondents); doda, 転職の面接は平均何回？. Figures retrieved August 2026.
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