Bilingual Job Fairs in Tokyo and Elsewhere 2021

You are in Japan and looking for a full-time position? You are prepared to go through a Japanese style recruiting process and you have at least a conversational grasp (ideally business level or more) of Japanese? Welcome to the world of bilingual job fairs in Japan.

To get you started, this article list some practical tips, upcoming events, and gives you more insights into what to expect at the biggest and most well-known career fairs in Japan. (※This article was last updated on January 19th, 2021)

Job Fairs in Japan

Why attend a job fair with a fixed schedule and a limited amount of companies? The reason is simple: they can be extremely helpful in finding you a job in Japan.

Unlike when searching for a job online, you can talk to people from HR, employees, or even managers directly. You will be able to ask questions content and get a feel of what the company and the people there are like.

Last, but not least, the companies participating in bilingual job fairs are actively looking to hire people with international experiences. By attending events with this specific focus, you have a better chance of finding a job and a company that matches your profile compared to events aimed at the average Japanese job seeker.

Practical Advice for Attending Job Fairs

• Before we get to the individual events, here’s what you have to know about job fairs.

General

• ✔ Participation is free! So don’t be afraid to attend. (Same goes for job-matching services by recruiting agencies.)
• ✔ Wear suits! This is pretty much non-negotiable at Japanese job fairs … yes, even if it’s an online event.
• ✔ Start to prepare early! Work on your resume, check and apply to companies through the event website (depending on the company, seminar and interview spots might run out quickly).
• ✔ Check the event & seminar schedule! Aside from registration for the event itself, you might have to register in advance to participate in seminars.
• ✔ Write & bring your CV! If the event holders have prepared a CV template online, you should bring a (filled) print-out version to the event. It is however advisable to also write your own CV, adjusted to match the company you want to apply to. Out of consideration for the many Japanese companies at the event, I strongly recommend bringing a Japanese CV! (At the venue, you can often find printer to print extra CVs).
• ✔ Just found out about the event yesterday? Attend! Even if you don’t have time to prepare, you can still walk away with a job. Mind your dress code, update your resume on the event website, print it, and bring some extras, since you never know which unexpected encounter you might have.
• ✔ Leave a good impression! This is a recruiting event, so you might get a job offer on the spot!
• ✔ Ask for help! If you cannot attend a company seminar at the event for whatever reason, talk to the staff. They might still accept your resume or invite you to a seminar at another time.

When attending an event at a venue

• ✔ Show up early! The first 30min might be the best time to talk leisurely and leave a good impression with your dream company before everyone else shows up. To make getting up early easier, many events hand out gift cards to the first 100 or so to enter the venue.
• ✔ Don’t wait until the last minute! Depending on the interest a company gets at the event, some might close their booths early, so don’t wait until 4pm to initiate first contact.

Upcoming events

Get ready for the job fairs this season! To find out more about the biggest and most popular career fairs scroll down to the next section (last updated January, 19th, 2021).

Daijob Career Fair Tokyo

Event for students, new graduates, and mid-career professionals.
Feb 19th (Fri)
16:30 – 21:00
Akihabara UDX 2F AKIBA_SQUARE
Official website

GlobalLeader Career Fair Tokyo

Event for exchange students and recent graduates.
Mar 2nd (Tue) to Mar 7th (Sun)
※All events will be held online.
Between Feb 2nd and 9th, you can also join a number of online “company research fairs.”
Official website (in Japanese)

GlobalLeader Career Fair Osaka

Event for exchange students and recent graduates.
Mar 13th (Sat) to Mar 14th (Sun)
※All events will be held online.
Official website (in Japanese)

MyNavi Job Fair for International Students

Job fair for international students who will graduate from university, technical college, or vocational school by spring 2022.
Aside from visiting company booths and attending company seminars, students can also attend “MyNavi School” events to find out more about how to get through the recruitment process.

Online Event
Mar 5th (Fri)
13:00 ~ 17:00
More info (in Japanese)

Nagoya
Mar 9th (Tue)
13:00 ~ 17:00
Shinjuku NS Building BF, Big Hall
More info (in Japanese)

Tokyo
Mar 11th (Thu)
13:00 ~ 17:00
Shinjuku NS Building BF, Big Hall
More info (in Japanese)

Osaka
Mar 17th (Wed)
13:00 ~ 17:00
Umeda Sky Building Tower West 10F, Aura Hall
More info (in Japanese)

Fukuoka
Mar 17th (Sat)
13:00 ~ 17:00
ElGala Hall, Big Hall
More info (in Japanese)

MyNavi Job Fair for Students from ASEAN

Same structure as the other MyNavi job fairs, but limited to international students from ASEAN countries.
Apr 17th (Sat)
13:00 ~ 17:00
AKIBA SQUARE
More info (in Japanese)

JOB博 ONLINE 2022

Event for international students and recent graduates (work experience less than 3 years) who can start working in April 2022.
Feb 6th (Sat)
13:00-16:30
Official website (in Japanese)

2021 JET Programme Online Career Fairs

Event for current JET programme participants who are about to finish their term and are looking for other types of work. Former JETS are also admitted.
Feb 20th (Sat) ~ 21th (Sun)
Feb 27th (Sat) ~ 28th (Sun)
Mar 6th (Sat) ~ Mar 7th (Sun)
09:00 ~ 18:00
Official website

Popular Job Fairs for Bilinguals

1. Career Forum

DISCOs “Career Forum” specializes in recruiting events for Japanese-English bilinguals since 1987. Their events cater to both students and professionals.
With over 250 companies participating, Tokyo Career Forum is one of the biggest Japanese-English job fair around and is customarily held twice a year at Big Sight, Odaiba. Because of the inner workings of the Japanese hiring system, there will usually be more companies and job-seekers participating in the summer event.

They also have events in Osaka, and another one aimed at exchange students. If you want to work in Japan, but are not here yet, you can attend their fairs in London, Shanghai and Sydney and various cities in the U.S.

Companies will conduct company seminars, if you missed one you can ask the staff at the booth to sign you up for a later presentation. Many companies will also accept walk-in interviews or schedule an interview with you on the same day.

The event is always held on a weekend, Saturday and Sunday, from 10am-5pm. The first 200 or so early birds often receive a gift card. Arriving early will also secure you some time to talk to your dream company and leave an impression, before they are flooded with CVs of your competition. So get there early!

What: Career Forum
Who: students, new grads, professionals, limited number of internship opportunities
Where: Tokyo; Osaka; abroad
When: June and December, Sat-Sun

2. Go Global Career Fair

Go Global Career Fair is held by Daijob, arguably the largest job site for global talent in Japan. Their job fairs are smaller than the Tokyo Career Forum I introduced above, but they are held frequently around the year. They are holding special events, for example with only foreign-affiliated and global companies.
Walk-in interviews are not common here. Most companies will invite you to a follow-up 説明会せつめいかい, an event where they will introduce the company to prospective applicants. Nevertheless, some companies may ask you to directly attend interviews at the venue, so come prepared. I found that at smaller events, you often get more opportunities to really talk with the company representatives.

What: Go Global Career Fair
Who: students, new grads, professionals
Where: Tokyo
When: various dates throughout the year (also weekday evenings until 9pm)

3. JOB博

This event is held by staffing company Pasona, often taking place directly in their headquarters in Tokyo. You can get in touch with recruiters during the event or at a light meal afterwards. So even if things don’t work out on the spot, you can make contact with recruiters that can help you with your job search.

The other advantage at this career fair is that the staff speaks a variety of languages and can be approached with concerns anytime. When I attended, I met a German intern, who answered all my event related questions and even gave me quite a bit of general job hunting advice.
Pasona also organizes fairs in Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka as well as an event aimed specifically at Chinese speakers called “JOB博China.”

On a side note, Pasona’s main office might be (one of) the greenest buildings I have ever seen. The whole façade is covered in plants and inside they grow everything from grains to vegetables – a sight to see!

What: JOB博
Who: students (incl. Japanese schools), graduates
Where: Tokyo; Osaka; Nagoya; Fukuoka
When: 1-day events around the year

4. MyNavi Global Career EXPO

MyNavi, one of Japan’s two job search platform giants, target global talent and bilinguals with their Global Career Expo (マイナビ国際派就職EXPO) and other events. Held twice a year in summer and winter with over 80 participating companies in winter, it is another big event open to both students and people with work-experience. Early bird coupons are offered for the first 100 arrivals on the event days.

They also have 1-day events in Osaka, 2-day events abroad in New York and Sydney, as well as Advisory Sessions in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Canada, England and California.

What: Global Career EXPO
Who: students (incl. Japanese schools), graduates, professionals, internship information
Where: Tokyo; Osaka; abroad
When: June and December, Fri-Sat or Sat-Sun

5. GL Doors!

Global Leaders provides a variety of job fairs aimed at foreign exchange students across Japan. With around 40 exhibiting companies at their Tokyo career fair, this medium-sized event takes place over 2 days on a weekend in March from 11am-5pm.
They also offer events in Osaka and Nagoya, as well as an event in Tokyo aimed at ASEAN and Western applicants in February.

On GlobalLeader’s website you can find a lot of useful job-hunting information and counseling services. The only downside being that all their information is exclusively in Japanese.

What: GL Doors!
Who: foreign exchange students
Where: Tokyo; Osaka
When: March, Sat-Sun

6. Other events

In this article we introduced the biggest events, but there are other providers who are also organizing job fairs or 合同企業説明会 (ごうどう・きぎょう・せつめいかい) as they are often called. If you look for these smaller events, keep in mind that many of them will be held around March every year.

If you’re currently studying at a Japanese university, keep out an open eye for announcements or fliers starting at the beginning of the year. Many Japanese universities and even Japanese Language schools hold small-scale job fairs for their students. If you are proficient in Japanese, it is possible to join events aimed at Japanese students.

Career fairs are a great way to connect with Japanese companies. The above selection gives you a place to start your job search. There are more events and even more job hunting sites out there, so keep looking what other events might be available in your area, consider getting recruiters involved (their service is free to you) and just use all resources available to make sure your job search in Japan will be a success.

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Need help?

Even if you technically know what to do, going through a job search in Japan can be stressful – especially if it’s your first time, and you’re still not confident in your Japanese. If you have doubts about making it on your own, you can always ask professionals for help.

Linguage Japanese Language school, located just a few minutes away from Shinjuku station, specializes in preparing foreigners of all Japanese levels for their job hunt. At Linguage, you can not only hone your practical Japanese skills but also get advice on how to write your CVs and cover letters, prepare for your interviews, and the ins and outs of Japanese company culture. Depending on how much time you can have, you can choose between long-term and multiple short-term options. Sounds interesting? Check out the official website by clicking the button below!

Linguage Japanese Language School