Seishain 正社員 (indefinite)
Permanent regular employee. Dismissal requires objective reasonable grounds (Labor Contract Act Art. 16) — among the strongest job security in the OECD. Trade-off: relocation orders (tenkin) anywhere in Japan.
仕事 / JOBS & CAREERS5 ENTRIES / 5 DOSSIERS
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The right role, a clearer contract, and a career on your terms.
MODULE // 01 LEGAL CONTRACT ARCHETYPES (雇用形態マトリクス)
Full dossier →Keiyakushain 契約社員 (fixed term)
Direct fixed-term contracts, usually one year. After five consecutive years you gain a unilateral right to convert to indefinite terms (Art. 18). Bonuses and allowances are often reduced.
Gyomu-itaku 業務委託 (freelance B2B)
Service outsourcing as a sole proprietor (kojin jigyo). Higher gross rates, full autonomy, self-managed tax filing — but zero labor-law cover: no overtime premiums, no paid leave, no dismissal shield.
Haken 派遣社員 (dispatch)
Employed by an agency, working at a client site. Strict three-year cap per client division, minute-by-minute overtime pay, and a possible direct-hire route (shokai-yotei-haken).
MODULE // 02 ROLE RADAR — TYPICAL BANDS, NOT LISTINGS
4 / 7 ARCHETYPES SHOWN#ROLE-02 ¥10–16M TYPICAL / YR
AI / ML engineer
Robotics and SaaS labs; Tier-1 HSP accreditation is common.
EN OK SEISHAIN SPONSOR: COMMON
Related dossier →#ROLE-01 ¥9–14M TYPICAL / YR
Senior backend engineer
Gaishikei and startups hire in English; HSP points stack fast.
EN OK SEISHAIN SPONSOR: COMMON
Related dossier →#ROLE-04 ¥2.7–3.3M TYPICAL / YR
Eikaiwa instructor
Evening and weekend shifts; enrollment quotas at the big chains.
EN OK CONTRACT SPONSOR: COMMON
Related dossier →#ROLE-03 ¥2.3–2.8M TYPICAL / YR
ALT, public schools
Dispatch via agency; confirm holiday-month pay before signing.
EN OK CONTRACTHAKEN SPONSOR: COMMON
Related dossier →MODULE // 03 CORPORATE LANDSCAPE COMPASS
BROAD STROKES · EMPLOYERS VARY| METRIC | JTC (伝統日系) | TECH STARTUP | GAISHIKEI (外資系) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Language | JP N1 / keigo | N2 – bilingual | English primary |
| Base pay | Moderate (often ¥5–9M) | Flexible + equity | High (often ¥12M+) |
| Decision flow | Ringi (slow) | Agile / lead-driven | HQ top-down |
| Job security | Near-unbreakable | Runway-bound | Reorg / PIP risk |
| Deemed OT | Common (30–45h) | Common (20–40h) | Rare (actuals) |
MODULE // 04 UNSPOKEN WORKPLACE RULES
Full dossier →DECODE EVERY OFFER Minashi zangyo みなし残業 (deemed overtime)
Offers bundle 20–45 fixed overtime hours into the headline salary — no extra pay until you exceed the threshold. Always split the offer into kihonkyu (true base) versus kotei-zangyodai (fixed OT).
TRUST PROTOCOL Ho-ren-so 報連相 (report, inform, consult)
The trust protocol of domestic management: hokoku (status reports), renraku (factual updates), sodan (consult before deciding). Silent autonomy reads as untrustworthy, not efficient.
ALIGN FIRST Nemawashi and ringi 根回し・稟議 (consensus first)
Decisions are pre-aligned in one-on-one hallway chats (nemawashi); the formal meeting just stamps the ringi document. Debating from zero in the meeting itself almost never works.
TWO DOCUMENTS Rirekisho plus shokumu-keirekisho (two resumes)
Domestic applications need both: a rirekisho (chronological biodata with formal headshot) and a shokumu-keirekisho (project dossier with measurable impact). Gaishikei usually accepts one English CV.
MODULE // 05 STATUTORY LABOR SHIELDS (労働基準法)
DIRECTIVES, NOT ADVICEDismissal invalidation
Unreasonable firings are void by law; redundancy layoffs must clear four strict legal tests.
Five-year conversion
Fixed-term staff can demand indefinite terms after five years with the same employer.
Ten days paid leave
Minimum ten days after six months at 80 percent-plus attendance, whatever the contract type.
Inspection offices (労働基準監督署)
Unpaid overtime, edited timesheets, or dismissal threats go to the local Labor Standards Inspection Office. Multilingual consultation availability varies by office — bring a Japanese speaker if you can.
MODULE // 06 OVERTIME PREMIUM CALCULATOR
ESTIMATES ONLYTOOL // 01 · STATUTORY MATH
Overtime Premium Calculator
Enter your true hourly base (kihonkyu ÷ scheduled hours) and hours per category. Fixed-OT bundles cannot waive premiums on hours beyond the bundle.
- Overtime (20h × 1.25)
- ¥50,000
- Late-night (0h × 1.50)
- ¥0
- Rest-day (0h × 1.35)
- ¥0
- Beyond 60h (0h × 1.50)
- ¥0
- PREMIUM PAY DUE
- ¥50,000
Simplified: night premium shown stacked (1.25 + 0.25). Actual payroll splits base and premium lines — compare this total against your slip’s overtime lines, not the headline salary.
DOSSIER INDEX
5 PROTOCOLS- ENTRY #001 FULL DOSSIER
English teaching
ALT dispatch, eikaiwa chains, JET, and direct-hire school roles. Low Japanese bar, modest pay bands, wide sponsor availability.
- ENTRY #002 FULL DOSSIER
Tech jobs
Engineering, product, and data roles across gaishikei, startups, and domestic firms. English-only posts exist; N2 opens the full market.
- ENTRY #003 FULL DOSSIER
Contract types
Seishain, keiyaku, gyomu-itaku, and haken: the four employment archetypes, what each protects, and what each costs you.
- ENTRY #004 FULL DOSSIER
Workplace rules
The unwritten operating system: deemed overtime, ho-ren-so reporting, nemawashi consensus, and the two-resume application.
- ENTRY #005 FULL DOSSIER
Where to look
English boards, Japanese boards, recruiters, and Hello Work — where foreigner-friendly roles surface, and listing red flags.