Where do you work? Japanese Industries and their Names

Looking for industry names in Japanese? Our list gives you the terms you need to join the conversation.

Regardless of whether you are looking job or just want talk about the Japanese economy, without knowing what different industries are called in Japanese things can become confusing.
Since types of industries aren’t the first thing we learn in Japanese class, below we compiled a list of common Japanese industry terms. The list focuses on those that frequently show up in job ads, so it can be used as reference during job search.

Basic structure

There is a simple trick to talking about industries in Japanese. Just add 業界 (gyoukai, industry) at the end of the word.
IT industry? IT業界.
Automobile industry? 自動車業界. It’s as simple as that.

1. Manufacturing Industry

1. メーカー (/) – maker, manufacturer
2. 食品・農林・水産 (shokuhin・nourin・suisan) – food (food, agriculture and forestry, fishing)
3. 建設 (kensetsu) – construction
4. 繊維 (seni) – textile
5. 化学 (kagaku) – chemical
6. 製薬 (seiyaku) – pharmaceutical (also 薬品, yakuhin)
7. 化粧品 (keshouhin) – cosmetic
8. 鉄鋼・金属 (tekkou・kinzoku) – iron and steel, metal
9. 電子・電気機器 (denshi・denkikiki) – electronics industry
10. 自動車・輸送用機器 (jidousha・yusoukiki) – automobile and transportation
11. 精密・医療機器 (seimitsu・iryoukiki) – precision, medical equipment
12. スポーツ・玩具 (/・omocha) – sport, toy

2. Service Industry

1. サービス (/) – service
2. 不動産 (fudousan) – real-estate
3. 運輸・物流 (unyu・butsuryuu) – transport (transport, logistics)
4. 電力・ガス・エネルギー (denryoku・/・/) – energy (electrical power, gas, energy)
5. 飲食 (inshoku) – food and beverage
6. 衣料・装飾 (iryou・soushoku) – fashion (clothing and ornaments)
7. ホテル・旅行 (/・ryokou) – hospitality, travel
8. 医療 (iryou) – medial care
9. 福祉 (fukushi) – social services
10. 娯楽・レジャー (goraku・/) – amumsement, leasure
11. 人材紹介・派遣 (jinzaishoukai・haken) – recruitment・ (temp) dispatch
12. 教育 (kyoiku) – education
13. コンサルティング (/) – consulting
14. 介護 (kaigo) – nursing
15. 冠婚葬祭 (kankonsousai) – ceremonial services (weddings, funerals, etc.)
16. 通販 (tsuuhan) – e-commerce

3. IT&Media industry

1. ソフトウエア (/) software
2. 情報・インターネットサービス (jouhou・/) – information・internet services
3. 通信 (tsuushin) – telecommunications
4. マスコミ (masukomi) – mass communication
5. 放送 (housou) – broadcasting
6. 新聞 (shinbun) – newspaper
7. 出版 (shuppan) – publishing
8. 広告 (koukoku) – advertising
9. 芸能・エンタテインメント (geinou・/) – entertainments industry (performing arts)

5. Finance Industry

1. 金融 (kinyuu) – finance
2. 銀行 (ginkou) – banking
3. 信販・リース (shinpan・/) – credit, leasing
4. 保険 (hoken) – insurance
5. 生保・損保 (seiho・sonpo) – life insurance; damage insurance
6. 証券 (shouken) – bond, securities, broker

6. Trading Industry

1. 商売 (shoubai) – trade, commerce
2. 商 社 (shousha) – trading company
3. 総合商社 (sougoushousha) – general trading company
4. 専門商社 (senmonshousha) – specialized trading company
5. 小売 (kouri) – retail

8. Public Service

1. 官公庁 (kankouchou) – public agencies (govm. and municipal offices)
2. 公社・団体 (kousha・dantai) – public corporation, organization (public schools, public hospitals, etc.)

※ (/) Give these words your best Japanese pronunciation. We decided not to transliterate Katakana words with English roots back into Romaji (Latin letters) because it causes more harm than it does good.

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