Foreigners still get hired in Japan. The money splits hard. IT specialists often earn ¥7-12 million a year. English teaching is the usual first visa, with older ALT figures around ¥2.4-3 million.
Japan's average salary was ¥4.61 million in the National Tax Agency 2023 survey. Specialists with bilingual skills can beat that number. You still need a sponsor. A bachelor's degree is the default ticket.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare counted 2.05 million foreign workers by 2022. Firms still post for engineers. Dispatch teaching still takes people who only have English.
This plan fails fast without a degree. It also fails if you need a fully English office on week one. Which job can you actually land, and which board will show it?
Pay bands for jobs foreigners actually get
| Role | Typical annual pay | What the figure is based on |
|---|---|---|
| IT / software engineer | ¥7-12 million | Career-site industry roundups, with AI and cloud cited at the top |
| English teacher (ALT) | ¥2.4-3 million | Dispatch figures published years ago; confirm live listings |
| University English teaching | Course fees that stack; some full professors cited up to ¥10 million | Campus contracts, not ALT dispatch |
| Finance / banking (Tokyo) | ¥8-15 million | Multinational bands in the same salary roundups |
| Business analyst | About ¥6 million | Third-party job roundups |
| Customer service | About ¥3.9 million | English-speaker listings |
Those are not one official government table. Teaching pay in particular may have moved since the last widely quoted ALT number.
IT and finance if you want ¥7 million or more
Skilled people aim at Tokyo and Osaka for a reason. Visa sponsorship shows up more often there. Rirekisho Builder puts experienced software engineers at ¥7-10 million-plus. AI and cybersecurity profiles get cited up to about ¥12 million.
Finance at Tokyo multinational banks is quoted at ¥8-15 million in that same kind of roundup. They want JLPT N2 or N1. Osaka startups pay well for tech too, just with fewer of those bank-style ceilings.
Thing is, the shortage is why foreigners get interviews. Bloom Tech talks about a 450,000-person IT gap by 2030. That's a career-site figure, not a page you can stamp from METI. Sponsors still act like the gap is real.
Hours can wreck the offer. MHLW reported in 2022 that 10.1% of men worked over 60 hours a week. Karoshi risk sits inside that statistic.
You can be a strong engineer and still stall for months because the team wants someone who can survive a keigo-heavy standup, file a Japanese weekly report, and not freeze when a client calls, and that mix is what the upper band is paying for even when the post says English is OK.
Skip the finance track if you have no path to N2. Some IT teams will talk at N3. That's the crack in the door.
English teaching if you need an entry visa
Teaching is how a lot of people get the first residence card. ALT dispatch pay is still quoted at ¥2.4-3 million from older Interac material. Treat that as historical. Check current offers.
University work is a different animal. GaijinPot's campus-teaching writeup describes ¥5,000-12,000 per course per week. Stack 8-10 courses and a 14-week semester can land around ¥70,000-168,000. Full professor pay is cited as high as ¥10 million. That's not an ALT job.
Rural posts often match national pay while rent runs 20-30% lower, per older Tokyo Portfolio cost notes. You may need a car.
ALT and campus checklist
- Bachelor's degree (this one is firm)
- TEFL or similar certificate, preferred more than required
- Driver's license plus an International Driving Permit for many rural ALT posts (1949 Geneva Convention countries)
- Instructor visa through the school or dispatcher
These jobs build a network. Some people later jump to IT or marketing. Don't assume the jump is automatic.
Visas employers actually file
Most work starts with a sponsor. They apply for a Certificate of Eligibility. Immigration Services Agency handling is often quoted at about 2-4 weeks for that certificate once the file is in. You don't file that first step alone.
The Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services status is the workhorse for IT and many office roles. Instructor covers teaching. Highly Skilled Professional (HSP) is a points path. You need 70 points from education, income, and experience. HSP2 is the more flexible follow-on.
A digital nomad visa launched in 2024. Third-party explainers such as Paul Roberts' summary describe a 6-month stay if you earn about ¥10 million a year from a foreign employer. It is not a local-hire visa.
- Score yourself on the HSP points chart if you have specialized skills.
- Target employers who have sponsored before, then let them file the COE.
- Keep teaching as a backup only if you meet the degree rule.
Don't treat a recruiter "we're interested" note as sponsorship. The company has to do the paperwork. If you're applying from abroad, wait for the COE before you book a one-way flight.
Job boards that list English-friendly openings
GaijinPot Jobs is still the board people open first for teaching and other English-facing work. Its blog has also tracked English-speaker listings in customer service and marketing (GaijinPot roundup).
Daijob is the filter-heavy board. You can narrow by JLPT or English OK. LinkedIn is where multinational recruiters sit. Bilingual agencies feed those same firms; Coto Academy's job-site roundup maps the usual suspects.
Turns out the filter is the whole game. Filter English OK. Filter it again by prefecture. English OK in Osaka IT is a different stack than English OK on a nationwide ALT board, and people waste weeks mixing those piles.
Read the salary line twice. Many Japan posts show monthly pay, not annual. Multiply by 12. Bonuses exist, but don't spend them before they land.
Update the resume the Japanese way. Photo, rirekisho layout, dates in the order they expect. A US-style one-pager gets ignored at some firms. Apply on the board, then answer if an agency scouts you. Don't pay a sketchy placement fee for a teaching job that is already public.
Visa support on a listing means the employer is willing to file. It does not mean they already have your COE. Ask who has sponsored foreigners in the last year. Ask what status they use. If they dodge both questions, keep scrolling.
Japanese level and what actually blocks you
N2 and N1 open the better jobs. English-only work is rare, under 5% in one skills rundown, and it isolates you. Some IT groups hire at N3.
Keigo, nomikai, and group harmony are the daily test. Skip Japan if you expect English everywhere.
Tokyo costs against a ¥7 million salary
Housing Japan cites a Tokyo monthly average around ¥576,000. A ¥7 million job covers that. ¥4 million gets tight in the center.
To be honest, the rent line is what wrecks people who took teaching pay and a Shibuya apartment.
| Expense | Tokyo monthly (¥) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Rent (1-bed, central) | 150,000-250,000 | Rural often 20-30% less |
| Food | 50,000-80,000 | Home cooking |
| Transport | 10,000-20,000 | Commuter pass |
| Rough total | 300,000-500,000 | A ¥576,000 monthly figure leaves a buffer |
Aim at ¥7 million-plus if Tokyo is the plan. Teach in a cheaper prefecture if it isn't.
Job, visa, and language match
| Job | Avg pay (as cited) | JLPT | Visa path | Demand driver | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IT engineer | ¥7-12M (Rirekisho Builder) | N2+; N3 OK in some teams | HSP / Engineer | Cited 450K shortfall by 2030 (Bloom Tech) | Long hours |
| English teacher | ¥2.4-3M ALT (historical); university up to ¥10M (GaijinPot) | None for many ALT posts | Instructor | Easy first visa | Rural driving; stale pay quotes |
| Finance / banking | ¥8-15M (Rirekisho Builder) | N1/N2 | HSP | Tokyo multinationals | High hours |
| Customer service | ¥3.9M (Interac roundup) | Conversational | Engineer/Specialist | English-facing listings | Shift work |
| Business analyst | ¥6M (Interac roundup) | N2 | HSP | Bilingual demand | Experience needed |
Treat teaching as the weakest cell. The high university number is not what a first-year ALT earns.
FAQ
Is JLPT N3 enough for IT jobs? Some Japanese IT firms will hire at N3 when they can't fill seats. Your stack still has to carry the interview.
What's a realistic foreigner salary by field? National average was ¥4.61 million in 2023. IT roundups sit at ¥7-12 million. Teaching ALTs are still quoted at ¥2.4-3 million. Finance quotes run ¥8-15 million.
Can I work remotely on a digital nomad visa? Third-party writeups describe a 6-month visa for people earning about ¥10 million from a foreign employer. You are not supposed to use it as a Japan-company work visa.
How much do English teachers earn? ALT pay is still cited at ¥2.4-3 million on older pages. University course stacking can pay more. Check live listings before you budget Tokyo rent.
Do companies sponsor engineers? Yes, through COE and Engineer status. Processing for the certificate is often quoted at 2-4 weeks after the sponsor files.
Open GaijinPot Jobs and Daijob tonight. Filter English OK, then filter your city. If you have specialized IT skills, run an HSP points count before you accept a low teaching offer.