Last week, I had the privilege of joining an inspiring event hosted by the Japan Board Diversity Network (JBDN) in San Francisco. JBDN is a nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing board diversity in Japan through education, advocacy, and global collaboration. Their mission is to increase the representation of women and other underrepresented groups on corporate boards, an effort that’s gaining momentum.

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Working in a foreign country isn’t just about language proficiency or technical skills. It’s about understanding local business etiquette, communication styles, workplace expectations, and even subtle cultural cues that can make or break professional relationships. For Japanese professionals heading to the Americas, for example, the shift from hierarchical decision-making to more individualistic and assertive work cultures can be jarring.

Without proper preparation, these cultural mismatches can lead to misunderstandings, frustration, and even failed assignments.

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In 2012, I returned to Japan to pursue an MBA, fifteen years after my first experience living here in 1997. What began as a revisit quickly became a more permanent move, deepening my connection to the country and reshaping my understanding of cross-cultural communication. After completing my studies, I joined the Deloitte Tohmatsu Group in Tokyo as, as far as I know, their first non-Japanese HR employee, stepping into a role that required navigating both global business expectations and deeply rooted local customs.

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This is the final installment in the series, and it lands at a pivotal moment.

Japan’s labor market is undergoing a quiet but significant transformation. In a recent Nikkei/Japan Center for Economic Research survey, 47 economists were asked whether the growing number of foreign residents would improve living standards for average Japanese citizens. The response was clear: an overwhelming majority, 76%, said yes. This signals not just economic optimism, but a broader shift in how Japan views the role of foreign workers in its future.

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Japan’s labor market is undergoing a quiet but powerful transformation. As the country grapples with a persistent labor shortage, companies are being forced to rethink how they attract and retain talent. One of the most visible outcomes? Wage hikes. According to a survey by Teikoku Databank covering approximately 10,000 companies, the percentage of firms planning to “improve wages” has steadily increased over the past decade. The graph shows a clear upward trend from FY2013 onward, peaking around FY2019, dipping slightly during the pandemic years, and rising again toward FY2024.

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For decades, Japan’s labor market was defined by stability. Workers joined companies straight out of school and often stayed until retirement. But as the accompanying graph shows, that era is fading, and fast. From 2013 to 2019, the number of workers changing employers each year steadily increased, peaking at around 3.5 million. Although the pandemic years saw a temporary dip, the trend has resumed, with job-hopping numbers climbing again in 2022 and 2023.

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