TokyoDev has launched a new Japanese language blog focused on aiding Japanese companies in building English-speaking engineering teams. This is our first step towards our goal of helping these companies internationalize their engineering departments, which will allow them to take advantage of a much larger pool of eager applicants who have specialized knowledge or experience that they have trouble hiring for domestically.
Although companies such as Mercari, Money Forward, Smart News, and Cybozu have succeeded in this transition, they’re by far in the minority. Other companies have been paying attention and considering how they, too, can incorporate developers from around the world. What’s hindering them is a lack of information.
So far, we have had a lot of success helping Japanese companies hire international software engineers. Those companies already had international engineering teams in place, though, so we’ve been augmenting what was already there.
Now, we are thrilled to provide resources in Japanese, relevant to companies interested in developing new global teams. Our launch articles include:
- A case study of how Givery built an international development team by Sayana Takagi
- 5 benefits of building a diverse engineering team by Sayana Takagi
- Visa application procedures for hiring foreign engineers by Keiko Kimoto
- Three types of companies that hire foreign engineers by Sayana Takagi
- How much do foreign engineers make in Japan? by Paul McMahon
- A four-stage approach for hiring women on your engineering team by Ann Kilzer
In addition to the blog articles, Sayana Takagi will help support companies looking to make this transition. She’s been assisting companies in hiring international engineers for five years, and so has firsthand insight into the challenges and benefits. I’ve been working with her for almost a year now, and am thankful to her for helping make this possible. If your company is interested in her services, you can reach out to her directly at [email protected].
Helping Japanese companies become more international will directly aid our existing audience by growing the job pool for international software engineers, who are perhaps more fluent in languages like C, Python, or Ruby than they are in Japanese. By increasing the number of companies who are able to hire English speakers, we’ll create new opportunities for our readership.
Beyond that, this initiative will expand the economic opportunities of the country I’ve called home for almost two decades. I’m excited for us all to begin this next chapter together.
