Link to section🇯🇵 Japanese Prefecture
Link to section🛂 Residency Status
58% of respondents had a residency status tied to their employment (engineer or highly skilled foreign professional).
Highly skilled foreign professional status was most common among new arrivals: 22% of those who had been in Japan less than a year held it, compared to 11% of those here 1–3 years and 5% of those here longer. This likely reflects its fast track to permanent residency, which holders can apply for after one to three years.
Link to section🌏 Country or Region
Link to section⏳ Age
79% of respondents were between 20 and 39 years old.
Older respondents were much more likely to work fully remotely: 28% of those in their 40s did so, compared to 15% of those in their 30s and 10% of those in their 20s. Respondents in their 20s were also the most likely to have no remote work at all, at 20%.
Link to section⚧ Gender
Male respondents had more experience than female respondents. Men averaged 9 years of professional experience, compared to 6.8 years for women.
Men also earned more, with an average compensation of 11 million yen, 42% higher than the 7.7 million yen women earned. Experience explains only part of this gap. Had men had the same mix of experience as women, they would have averaged 9.7 million yen, still 26% more than women.
The reasons behind this disparity are complex, but it's clear that women face challenges in the Japanese tech industry. TokyoDev has published information on concrete actions your company can take to improve the hiring experience for women.
Link to section🏳️🌈 LGBTQ+
7% of respondents identified as LGBTQ+.
There was a large gap by gender: 4% of men identified as LGBTQ+, compared to 28% of women.
One barrier LGBTQ+ software developers face when considering a move to Japan is that same-sex marriage is not legally recognized. TokyoDev supports the legalization of same-sex marriage, is a member of Business for Marriage Equality, and has shared the experiences and perspectives of LGBTQ+ people.
Link to section🙏 Religion
Religious beliefs varied considerably by nationality. For instance, 59% of Indonesian respondents were religious and practicing, whereas 94% of French respondents were atheist or agnostic.
For one developer's experience of practicing their faith while working in tech here, see Being a Muslim Software Engineer in Japan.
Link to section🧑💼 Professional Experience
The median respondent had 8 years of professional software development experience.
Compensation generally grew with experience. Respondents with less than 1 year of experience made a median of 4.5 million yen, while those with more than 20 years of experience made a median of 16.5 million yen.
Link to section🇯🇵 Years in Japan
The median respondent had lived in Japan for 5 years. Japanese ability grew steadily with time in Japan: 18% of those who had been here 3 years or less had business-level Japanese or better, compared to 65% of those who had been here 10 years or more.
Long-term residents were also less likely to live in Tokyo: 46% of those who had been here 10 years or more lived in Tokyo, compared to 63% of those who had been here less than 10 years.
Residency status shifted sharply at around 10 years, the standard residence requirement for permanent residency: 66% of those who had been here 10 years or more were permanent residents or Japanese citizens, compared to 12% of those who had been here less than 10 years.
Link to section🧑💼 Professional Qualifications
Link to section💬 English Ability
98% of respondents were comfortable using English in a professional setting.
Respondents less fluent in English were the most enthusiastic about AI: 31% of those with business-level English or below said AI had made their day-to-day work much better, compared to 20% of fluent speakers and 14% of native speakers.
Link to section💬 Japanese Ability
Link to section📜 JLPT Level
54% of respondents reported having passed the JLPT at some level.
69% of respondents with business-level Japanese had passed JLPT N2 or higher. Among those who were fluent, this rose to 87%.
The most advanced learners were also the biggest fans of Japanese pop culture: 60% of N1 holders named it as a positive aspect of life in Japan, compared to 50% of N2 holders and 36% of those with N3 or lower or no JLPT.