Key jobs in demand for 2024 in Japan

As part of our 2024 Salary Guide, we have compiled a list of some of the key jobs in demand in Japan this year.

From conversations about various hiring and workplace trends with over 3400 professionals and 650 employers/hiring managers globally, our expert recruitment teams believe these high-demand jobs will be popular amongst those organisations in Japan looking to grow their workforces throughout 2024.

As a result, companies will seek to hire talent with the appropriate skills and knowledge to help them successfully navigate the landscape and harness related opportunities that arise.

Note: These roles are only from within the industries and sectors in which we have recruitment expertise - there will undoubtedly be others that are hotly in demand this year.

1. DevOps Engineer

DevOps Engineers connect development and operations, shattering the traditional silos and fostering collaboration to deliver software faster and more reliably. They're the architects of automation, creating pipelines that seamlessly integrate coding, testing, and deployment, accelerating the software lifecycle. DevOps Engineers also ensure excellent software performance by maintaining infrastructure, configuring, and managing servers, cloud platforms, and containers.

• Academic Degrees and Certifications
  • Degree in computer science, IT or related field
  • Professional certifications such as CKA, AWS Certified DevOps Engineer - Professional, Microsoft Certified Azure DevOps Engineer Expert, DCA, SRE
• Recommended skills for success
  • Communication
  • Automation and scripting
  • Project management
  • Cloud expertise
  • Continuous integration and continuous delivery
  • Monitoring and observability
  • Problem-solving and troubleshooting
• Average salary range
  • ¥8,000,000 - ¥15,000,000

Search for a job like this

2. Data Scientist

Data Scientists are responsible for analysing their company’s data for insights that can, in turn, determine actions that should be taken to harness opportunities and improve the business. They extract and interpret large amounts of data from a range of sources, using algorithms, data mining, AI, machine learning, and statistical tools, before presenting the findings to appropriate people within the organisation.

• Academic Degrees and Certifications
  • Degree in computer science, maths or science-based subject
  • IBM Data Science Professional Certificate, Google Cloud's From Data to Insights with Google Cloud Specialisation, Google's Data Analytics Professional Certificate, or similar
  • Japan Deep Learning Association’s Deep Learning for GENERAL (for AI-related positions)
• Recommended skills for success
  • Programming languages (Python, SQL, R, etc.)
  • Strong relational database knowledge, database design and coding skills
  • Analytical mindset and problem-solving ability
  • Experience with database interrogation and analysis tools
  • Communication and presentation skills
  • Organisation and project management
• Average salary range
  • ¥7,000,000 - ¥14,000,000

Search for a job like this

3. Senior Counsel- Legal

Senior Counsels in legal roles play a crucial role in protecting the company from legal risks, ensuring compliance, and supporting the achievement of its business objectives. They are trusted advisors, legal experts, business partners, and team leaders, all rolled into one. They also collaborate across departments, draft contracts, and manage legal teams. In short, they're the company's legal guardian.

• Academic Degrees and Certifications
  • Degrees in Law
  • Fully qualified for the national Bar Exam
• Recommended skills for success
  • Commercial awareness
  • A high degree of ethics and integrity
  • Analysis of situations and information
  • Communication skills
  • Deep legal expertise
  • Risk identification
  • Strategic thinking and problem-solving
  • Bilingual Japanese and English
• Average salary range
  • ¥15,000,000 - ¥27,000,000

Search for a job like this

4. Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) Manager

FP&A Managers are responsible for implementing, developing, and providing commercial financial analysis on company KPIs. The purpose of this role is to deliver data-driven insights that improve decision-making across the business. They manage the data to do with commercial results and use relevant tools to identify how the company can optimise processes to support growth plans, providing support for the forecasting and budgeting processes.

• Academic Degrees and Certifications
  • Degree - any field of study
  • Fully qualified - CPA, JCPA
  • 10 years of relevant finance experience
• Recommended skills for success
  • Finance and business analysis
  • Data-driven mindset
  • Strong commercial and business acumen
  • Business partnering
  • Financial/budget management and forecasting
  • System implementation
• Average salary range
  • ¥10,000,000 - ¥15,000,000

Search for a job like this

5. HR Manager

HR Managers ensure a positive work environment, attract and retain top talent, and help employees thrive and contribute to the company's success. They're responsible for a wide range of tasks that keep the organisation running smoothly and the people within it happy and productive. HR managers require a unique blend of business acumen, legal knowledge, interpersonal skills, and passion for people, as they are the ones who hold an organisation together.

• Academic Degrees and Certifications
  • Degree in human resources, psychology, counselling or business
  • Certifications in Human Resources Management (PHR), SPHR, CCBP
• Recommended skills for success
  • Strategic thinking and business acumen
  • Leadership and communication
  • Talent management and development
  • Compliance and legal savvy
  • Data analysis and reporting
  • Problem-solving and conflict resolution
  • Bilingual Japanese and English
• Average salary range
  • ¥9,000,000 - ¥13,000,000

Search for a job like this

Visit our 2024 Salary Guide to view salary information about a wider range of roles in Japan.