FAQ — recruiting in Japan

Contingency fees in Japan typically run 30–35% of TAI for most mid-career and senior bilingual mandates. Banking & financial services contingency desks are the standard exception, where the directory-reported band is 25%. Retained executive search runs 30–33% of TAI, structured as 1/3 retainer + 1/3 shortlist + 1/3 placement. Some firms layer in floor fees, success bonuses, or off-limits clauses. See Japan placement fees explained for the full breakdown.

Most companies hiring on contingency engage three to six recruiting agencies in parallel for the same role. This is the default in the Japan market and recruiters expect it. For retained search engagements the employer commits to a single firm exclusively for the duration of the search — that exclusivity is the consideration the employer offers in exchange for the agency's upfront retainer commitment. Mixing the two is unusual and typically requires explicit alignment.

Executive search firms work on retainer and focus on board, C-suite, and senior leadership mandates. They typically run smaller, deeper books of business; the consultant assigned is usually a partner; the engagement is exclusive. Contingency recruiters work on a no-placement-no-fee basis, handle higher volumes of mid-career and senior IC roles, and the employer typically engages several in parallel. Many global executive search firms (Korn Ferry, Heidrick & Struggles, Russell Reynolds, Spencer Stuart, Egon Zehnder, Boyden, Stanton Chase) operate without contingency desks; many other firms operate contingency-only; a few operate both alongside each other.

Retained executive search typically runs 12–20 weeks from engagement to signed offer for senior leadership and C-suite mandates. Contingency placements for mid-career bilingual roles in Japan typically close in 6–14 weeks depending on candidate-pool depth, vertical specialisation, and visa/work-authorisation steps. Board and CEO searches can take longer — often 16–28 weeks — particularly when succession planning, reference work, and board-stakeholder consultation are part of the engagement.

Most contingency recruiters offer a replacement guarantee — typically 30–90 days — during which they will run a replacement search at no additional placement fee if the candidate resigns or is terminated. Some firms offer pro-rata refunds instead. Retained search engagements typically include a replacement clause covering the initial 6–12 months of the placed executive's tenure, structured to mitigate risk on both sides. Specifics vary by agency and contract.

Yes. Every paid recruiting firm operating in Japan must hold a 有料職業紹介事業許可 (yūryō shokugyō shōkai jigyō kyoka) license issued by the MHLW (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare) under the Employment Security Act. License applications and registrations are handled through the relevant prefectural Labour Bureau (e.g., the 13- prefix in license numbers indicates Tokyo Labour Bureau jurisdiction), and licenses are listed publicly in MHLW's job-placement business registry. Firms operating only as information providers (job-board-style platforms) file under a separate regime — the 4号 framework (特定募集情報等提供事業者). See Recruiting licenses in Japan.

Japanese-domiciled (日系, nikkei) recruiters — JAC Recruitment, RGF, en world Japan, Cornerstone, and others — are headquartered in Japan, typically operate in Japanese as the default language, and have deeper reach into Japanese-domiciled corporate hiring. Foreign-capital (外資系, gaishikei) recruiters — Robert Walters, Hays, PageGroup, Korn Ferry, Heidrick & Struggles, etc. — are subsidiaries of internationally-headquartered firms, default to English, and concentrate on bilingual and foreign-capital corporate hiring. The candidate-pool overlap is partial; the employer-pool overlap is partial; many companies engage both for different roles.

It depends on the firm and the role. Foreign-capital recruiters can place English-monolingual candidates into roles at multinational Japan offices that operate in English (front-office finance, foreign-capital pharma, foreign tech subsidiaries, certain executive roles). However, the majority of jobs in Japan — including many bilingual-labelled roles — require functional Japanese (JLPT N2 or above). Japanese-domiciled recruiters generally require business-level Japanese for all but a few specialist verticals. See The Japan English-recruiting market for the bilingual market structure.

A typical process involves: an initial screening call with the recruiter (30–60 minutes); resume review and feedback; if shortlisted, an introduction to the hiring company; 2–4 rounds of interviews with the employer (HR, hiring manager, peers, sometimes a final with senior leadership); a written offer; salary negotiation; and resignation/start date coordination. Total elapsed time from first call to start date commonly runs 8–14 weeks. Some senior and executive roles run longer with assessment, reference, and case-study components.

Yes, but with discipline. Recruiters cannot present the same candidate for the same role at the same company twice — this creates "duplicate submission" conflicts that can disqualify you from the role. The standard practice is to keep a list of which recruiter is representing you for which role, and to tell each recruiter what other roles you are in process for. Most senior candidates work with 2–4 recruiters in parallel rather than dozens.

A counter-offer is when your current employer responds to your resignation by offering increased compensation, a promotion, or other changes intended to retain you. Industry consensus — across both recruiters and many career advisors — is that counter-offers carry significant risk: the underlying reasons that motivated your resignation typically remain, and accepting a counter-offer often results in departure within 6–12 months anyway. This is opinion, not law; the right call depends on your specific circumstances. Discuss with people who know your situation, not just your recruiter.

Recruiters facilitate the introduction but do not sponsor visas themselves — the employer is the visa sponsor under Japanese immigration law. Most foreign-capital and bilingual hiring in Japan involves Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services visas, Highly Skilled Professional visas, or Intra-Company Transferee visas. Experienced recruiters can advise on which categories suit your profile and which employers are reliable visa sponsors, but the legal mechanics — Certificate of Eligibility, in-Japan registration, status renewals — are between you and your employer.

Reputable recruiters operate under strict confidentiality and do not share your candidacy with anyone other than the specific employer you've authorised them to submit you to. Reference checks happen at the offer stage with references you nominate. The most common leak vectors are not recruiters but updated LinkedIn activity (rapid profile changes, sudden engagement spikes) and informal industry conversation — both within your control. If a recruiter ever discloses your candidacy without your consent, that is grounds to terminate the engagement.

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