Working in Japan: Some pros, cons and advice
Hi all!
This month, I received the opportunity to present a lightning talk at Design Matters Eve Tokyo 2023, so I am writing this as an "extended" version for those interested.
Have you wanted to work in Japan, but want to know what it is really like?
Or, are you currently working in Japan, but want to know other's experiences?
This article is for you.
About me
Firstly, let me introduce myself. I am an Australian living in Japan. I came to Japan in 2019. Since then I did a working holiday, doing photography/part-time work, before entering a large financial company as a UX/UI Specialist.
My work as a UX/UI Specialist involves application UX/UI design, conducting training on UX/UI, and design system creation.
I consider my role to be a mix of traditional product design, plus aspects of organizational design.
My latest passion is reading, and looking for side projects to conduct.
Slides from Presentation
If you are interested, here are the slides from my lightning talk.
Are you crazy to work in Japan?
So, let's get into the bulk of this article, are you crazy to work in Japan? Maybe not.
Let me explain my thoughts starting with a story from university.
During university in Australia, I studied Information Systems at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT).
During my time at QUT, I studied programming, databases, IT consulting, business analysis, and UX research.
In one of my classes, the tutor was a consultant at a big firm, and as I explained to him my aspirations to work in Japan, the first thing he said to me was:
"Dude, are you crazy?"
Japan has a bad reputation for harsh working standards, long hours, and busy rush-hour trains. For many who know this, it may be hard to imagine working in Japan.
But, I am writing this article to explain my experiences and thoughts: especially that there are great reasons to work in Japan.
Specifically, these interconnected "great reasons" are:
Passion for change
Amazing opportunities
Passion for change
This is my personal opinion, but I feel that the passion for change, or better put, the passion to be the best is very strong in Japan. Please note, this is both inside and outside of "work".
What this provides you is vast opportunities to grow, a means to be the best you, and a great sense of satisfaction.
Do you really like the work you do for your job? then you are able to strive to be the best and will be rewarded.
Or, do you have a side passion you work on before or after work? There are probably heaps of similar people who have built communities for you to join.
Within my time in Japan so far, I have found passionate circles/communities for:
Bouldering
Photography
"Pist Bike" riding
Beer
UX/UI Design
Product Management
Scrum/Agile
Amazing opportunities
While this is a byproduct of the above passion, I believe there is a vast range of opportunities in Japan, especially for the increasing IT field.
Some examples and reasons I feel this are below:
Large range of companies
Firstly, Japan has a large range of companies, ranging from large companies to startups still in their ideation phase. While this is normal overseas, I think the amount/range of companies is very diverse.
Lots of opportunities within any company
Secondly, I feel the need for UXUI in Japan is increasing rapidly, with all companies wanting to implement design into their IT strategy - something that traditionally was not.
Due to this, there will be many "first designer" roles in companies, allowing that designer to explore all possible roles within that company, not just being confined to one "UI" or "UX" role.
I think this will give the opportunity for designers to grow rapidly, and move into management if that is what they are interested in.
Events
Finally, in Japan, there is a wide range of world-class events for designers, something that I consider rare.
Some examples are:
Throughout events like these, I have been able to make connections with people I respect, want to be like, and hope to create something with in the future.
I consider this an opportunity I have received because I was in Japan.
Of course, overseas this is also possible, but I think the frequency is high in Japan.
(One thing, I feel I connected with people in these events here, but that may not be the same for others, depending on what you are looking for. )
But there are a lot of challenges, right?
Up until this point, you may be thinking "Great, but Japan is not all great things, right?".
Correct, there are challenges. Let me discuss some here.
Disconnect with foreign talent
From my experiences and hearing stories, I find there is a disconnect between foreign talent’s work style and local talent/stakeholders' expectations.
Depending on where a foreign talent origin country, they may be more casual at work by habit, when compared to Japanese workers.
For example in Japan, there are defacto rules about what "Good communication" is:
Using email opening and closing statements
Writing and sending meeting notes
Being clear about roles and responsibilities
Always being on time
Making the reason for meetings clear
etc.
However, these rules (and the underline values), are not always present overseas, leading to disconnect.
For example, there could be a talent who creates the best work out of everyone, but by not having the same communication style, that amazing work may not be 100% seen by other workers.
(This is not something that should be used to say "Japan is too strict" or "Other countries are too lazy", but more to indicate that we all have differences that should be respected and worked with. )
Disconnect with design
Secondly, as many local designers may explain, design is not fully understood, even within the IT industry.
For example, many designers I know in Japan have said people assume they are graphic designers, or that they have problems meeting users.
Some experiences I have had are:
Explaining ideas via paper prototypes but not receiving the engagement/feedback I was expecting
Participating in a "how might we" session where stakeholders did not understand why the session was occurring
Environment
In Japan, as in any country, there are standards for working: number of holidays, working hours, etc. However, as these were probably set based on the expectation that workers are Japanese, there are some areas that may not match with foreign talent.
(However, these standards change based on the company, and the expectations of talent, so I will not go into detail.)
There are also some "mismatches" between foreigners and services in Japan. For example, many applications have different rules/restrictions for name inputs. This will lead to errors in systems, such as the inability to verify your identity between two different services, etc..
Language
Finally language. Japan is a country that embraces its langauge: most advertising, services, TV, and conversations in streets are in Japanese. When you know Japanese this is not a problem, but many foreigners don't.
Also, not knowing Japanese increases the challenges mentioned above.
Some advice
To close, I would like to mention some advice/tips for people who are, or want to work in Japan.
Communication
Try to be reliable when communicating! Your communication does not need to be very formal, but by taking and sharing notes of meetings, etc. people will trust you, and you will probably find it help your own work.
Pro tip: When wanting to speak casually with people, it may be good to even state that to them, so they know you are not looking for official answers/conversations.
Become a change leader
Be open to becoming a change leader in your team and company.
As mentioned above, companies are still new to design, so as a designer, being open to mentor/nurture your environment will go a long way. You can change "Why does no one get this?!" to "Let me show you why this is important".
Please note, this is probably more aimed towards operating companies.
If you are in consulting or a very design focused company, then this probably is not too much of a challenge in that environment.
(But there will probably be new challenges for you to explore.)
Using concrete outputs
This is for the "transitional phase" when you are spreading design thinking - when people do not know a lot about design, it can be hard to react to ideas such as "Personas" or even "Customer journeys". So instead, try linking these to a physical thing people can see. Perhaps when explaining a customer journey you can have a really simple prototype to show what it means, etc. I would also recommend being careful of using designer jargon with non-designers.
Japanese
Finally, to increase your opportunities in work and life, I would highly recommend trying to learn Japanese. Your Japanese does not need to be perfect, any level of Japanese brings repect, makes communication smoother, and to be honest makes life funner in Japan.
Closing
Thank you for reading this far!
In this post, I discussed some pros, cons I feel about working in Japan, and so my personal advice. I hope it was of some interest.
If you have any questions or thoughts, it would be great to discuss with you: Please reach out!
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