--- title: 'Tech & AI jobs in Japan' canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/location/japan' type: 'location' --- # Tech & AI jobs in Japan > Japan's startup scene is smaller than its economy would suggest, but it's growing, and Tokyo runs it. The recent energy is in AI (Sakana AI, Preferred Networks) and a maturing SaaS layer (SmartHR, SmartNews), while global names like Sony, Datadog, and Databricks staff large engineering teams there. The market rewards patience and deep engineering more than blitzscaling. - **Open roles:** 1264 - **Hiring companies:** 249 - **Region type:** country - **Timezone:** Asia/Tokyo - **Population:** 124,500,000 - **Cost of living:** below the US average, with Tokyo more affordable than most global tech capitals. - **Climate:** Temperate with four distinct seasons, a hot humid summer, a rainy season in early summer, and cool winters. Tokyo rarely gets heavy snow. - **Page:** https://feeny.ai/location/japan ## Cities in Japan - [Tokyo](https://feeny.ai/location/japan/tokyo) — 957 jobs ## Top companies hiring in Japan - [Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.](https://feeny.ai/companies/sony-interactive-entertainment-inc) — 48 open roles - [Tailor](https://feeny.ai/companies/tailor) — 46 open roles - [Polyphony Digital](https://feeny.ai/companies/polyphony-digital) — 19 open roles - [PayPay Securities](https://feeny.ai/companies/paypay-securities) — 16 open roles - [Tango Gameworks](https://feeny.ai/companies/tango-gameworks) — 15 open roles - [STACK Infrastructure APAC](https://feeny.ai/companies/stack-infrastructure-apac) — 19 open roles - [Josys](https://feeny.ai/companies/josys) — 12 open roles - [DeepL](https://feeny.ai/companies/deepl) — 9 open roles - [Glance](https://feeny.ai/companies/glance) — 12 open roles - [Appier](https://feeny.ai/companies/appier) — 19 open roles - [WPP](https://feeny.ai/companies/wpp) — 28 open roles - [Tanium](https://feeny.ai/companies/tanium) — 11 open roles ## Top Universities **Where Japan's tech talent studies** The University of Tokyo and Kyoto University sit at the top of Japan's system and count numerous Nobel laureates among their alumni, while the private giants Keio and Waseda feed the business world (Waseda produced Uniqlo's Tadashi Yanai). Tokyo Institute of Technology supplies the hard-engineering talent. - **University of Tokyo** (Tokyo · 14,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Hiroshi Mikitani, Leo Esaki, Kunihiko Kodaira - **Kyoto University** (Kyoto · 13,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Shinya Yamanaka, Hideki Yukawa - **Keio University** (Tokyo · 28,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Yukichi Fukuzawa, Ryoji Chubachi, Junichiro Koizumi - **Waseda University** (Tokyo · 39,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Tadashi Yanai, Takeo Fukui, Haruki Murakami - **Tokyo Institute of Technology** (Tokyo · 4,800 undergrads) — notable alumni: Hideki Shirakawa, Kenichi Ohmae - **Osaka University** (Osaka · 15,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Akira Yoshino - **Tohoku University** (Sendai · 11,000 undergrads) — notable alumni: Koichi Tanaka ## Top Unicorns **Unicorn startups in Japan** The unicorn bench mixes frontier tech with materials science: AI at Sakana and Preferred Networks, EV batteries at AESC, and sustainable materials at TBM and Spiber. SmartHR and GO carry the SaaS and mobility flags in a scene built more on hard engineering than consumer apps. - **AESC** — $10B · Lithium-ion EV batteries & energy storage - **Sakana AI** — $2.65B · Nature-inspired foundation AI models - **HashKey** — $2B · Digital-asset exchange, custody & investment - **Preferred Networks** — $2B · Deep-learning, AI chips & robotics - **SmartNews** — $2B · AI-powered news discovery & aggregation - **SmartHR** — $1.6B · Cloud HR & labor-management SaaS - **TBM** — $1.3B · LIMEX, a limestone-based plastic & paper alternative - **Spiber** — $1.2B · Brewed Protein, a fermented structural material - **GO** — $1B · Japan's leading taxi-hailing & mobility app - **Opn** — $1B · Online payments & fintech infrastructure - **Playco** — $1B · Instant, cross-platform social games - **Clean Planet** — $1B · Quantum hydrogen clean-energy technology ## Events **What's happening in Japan** - [FMC STUDIO × OXOP Run Vol.1](https://luma.com/a9atb1c2) — 2026-08-07 · Tokyo - [働くを、自分の色で。／Work in your own colors.](https://luma.com/csxggzkw) — 2026-08-07 · Tokyo - [Codex Meetup Tokyo #2](https://luma.com/p9kfepcf) — 2026-08-07 · Tokyo - [VC AI Night～VCはAIでどう変わるのか？～](https://luma.com/6br09zij) — 2026-08-07 · Tokyo - [🌮Tacos Run @TRES HERMANOS🇲🇽](https://luma.com/iiyon-8emx) — 2026-08-07 · Tokyo - [Shibuya Crossing Coffee Rave ~HACHI-NARABI~](https://luma.com/cdrilmbk) — 2026-08-08 · Tokyo - [Builders Weekend - Shipaton Special Edition with OnLab](https://luma.com/c32o6i8l) — 2026-08-08 · Tokyo - [Too Hot to Be Cool Beach Festival | Rock for Climate](https://luma.com/thtbcbeach) — 2026-08-08 · Tokyo - [Asagaya Tanabata Festival Walking Tour](https://luma.com/vbgqyitq) — 2026-08-08 · Tokyo ## FAQ **Tech jobs in Japan: common questions** ### How many tech jobs are open in Japan right now? Feeny is tracking about 1,264 open tech roles in Japan, from roughly 249 companies hiring. Each listing is pulled from a company's own careers page, so a role that appears here is one they're actively staffing. Nearly all of it runs through Tokyo, which functions as the country's single tech hub. Filter by discipline to focus the set. ### Which cities in Japan have the most tech jobs? Tokyo runs it. The vast majority of the country's tech roles sit in and around the capital, and for most job seekers Tokyo is effectively the whole map. Other cities have pockets of engineering work, but nothing that rivals the concentration in Tokyo. Across the 1 we index, this is a one-hub country in practice. ### What companies are hiring for tech roles in Japan? The recent energy is in AI, with Sakana AI and Preferred Networks doing frontier research out of Tokyo. A maturing SaaS layer is the other growth story, led by SmartHR and SmartNews building real product businesses. Global names staff large engineering teams here too, from Sony to Datadog to Databricks. Feeny lists roles from about 249 companies, so the live openings are worth checking directly. ### What kinds of tech roles are common in Japan? SaaS engineering is a steady source of work as companies like SmartHR build out product teams. AI research and applied ML are the fast-growing category, thanks to labs like Sakana AI and Preferred Networks. Big-company engineering fills out the rest, with established firms and global offices needing people to run and extend large systems. The country is catching its software layer up to the size of its economy, and hiring reflects that shift. ### What is it like to work in tech in Japan? Tokyo has become genuinely more open to foreign engineers, and English-only roles do exist, especially at global firms and newer startups. Japanese still helps a lot once you step outside those international teams, and it shapes daily life more than work. Tokyo is expensive, though housing costs less than many people expect for a city its size. The honest trade is that the language gives you far more range, even where a job technically runs in English. ### Can international candidates get a work visa to work in tech in Japan? Japan's Engineer/Specialist in Humanities visa is well-established and a common route for foreign tech workers, tied to a qualifying job offer. Strong candidates can go further through the Highly Skilled Professional points system, which fast-tracks residency for people who score well on education, salary, and experience. The country has grown noticeably more welcoming to foreign engineers in recent years. Japanese isn't required for many global-facing roles, but it widens your options considerably. --- _Source: https://feeny.ai/location/japan_