Hiring in Japan: How to Make Your First 10 Hires Successfully

Your First 10 Hires Define Your Japan Trajectory

In Japan, early hiring mistakes can be expensive—not just financially, but in reputation and speed. The best early teams combine local credibility with strong communication to headquarters.

This guide focuses on “first 10 hires” for companies building a Japan presence, whether you’re starting with a representative office, a local subsidiary, or a partner-led model.

1) Start With the Roles That Reduce Risk and Increase Learning

For many companies, the first hires should enable execution and feedback loops:

• Country/Market Lead: local GTM ownership, partner management, internal alignment
• Sales (Account Executive / BD): pipeline creation, early deals, objection capture
• Customer Success / Implementation: onboarding, renewals, reference creation
• Marketing (Japan-focused): content, events, localized inbound
• Operations/Admin: vendor setup, invoicing, coordination (often part-time early)

Avoid hiring too many specialists before you have clarity on positioning and channel.

2) Choose an Employment Model That Matches Your Stage

Options typically include:

• Direct employment: highest control, higher setup burden
• Employer of Record (EOR): faster start, monthly overhead
• Contractors: flexible, but requires careful management and confidentiality

Your model affects speed, compliance, and cost structure—decide upfront so you can make offers confidently.

3) Sourcing Channels That Often Work in Japan

• Specialized recruiters (especially for bilingual or niche roles)
• LinkedIn (growing, but role-dependent)
• Japanese job boards (broad reach)
• Referrals (high-trust channel)
• Industry events and communities (excellent for credibility)

If you’re hiring bilingual talent, define clearly:

• Required level of Japanese/English
• Meeting and documentation expectations
• Who the candidate will collaborate with at HQ

4) Compensation and Offer Structure: Be Clear and Comparable

Candidates will compare you to local standards. Typical areas to define:

• Base salary and bonus
• Commissions (for sales)
• Benefits and allowances
• Remote/hybrid expectations
• Overtime policy and working hours

Also consider:

• Title alignment (titles can impact perceived seniority)
• Role scope clarity (avoid “everything” roles without support)

5) Interview Process: Calibrate for Japan

A strong process balances speed with confidence.

Best practices:

• Share a clear job description with outcomes and timeline
• Use structured interviews with consistent scoring
• Include scenario questions tied to Japan reality (partners, procurement, consensus)
• Communicate next steps and timing precisely

A long, vague process can cause drop-off—especially for strong candidates.

6) Onboarding: The First 30 Days Matter More Than You Think

Japan hires often need:

• Product training with localized materials
• Clear authority boundaries (what they can decide)
• Access to tools and internal stakeholders
• Regular cadence with HQ (weekly syncs)

Create an onboarding plan that includes:

• 30/60/90 day goals
• Customer/partner meeting targets
• Document templates for learnings and objections

7) Common Hiring Mistakes to Avoid

• Hiring only for language, not for execution ability
• Underestimating the need for local credibility and references
• Not aligning internally on decision speed and autonomy
• Misreading “polite agreement” as commitment
• Over-relying on one person without backup processes

A Simple “First 10 Hires” Checklist

• Define Japan strategy (partner-led vs direct vs hybrid)
• Prioritize the first 3 roles (risk reduction + learning)
• Decide employment model (direct/EOR/contract)
• Create Japan-ready comp bands and offer templates
• Establish interview scorecards and timeline
• Prepare 30/60/90 onboarding plan
• Build a feedback loop to update strategy based on market learnings

Want Help Building Your Japan Team?

We can connect you with certified recruiting partners and help design a hiring plan aligned with your market entry strategy. Contact us to discuss your goals.