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11. Working in Tokyo

Tokyo at a Glance

Working in Tokyo

The Roppongi area hosts many software, information, and communication technology firms.

Working in Tokyo, an expat will participate in a metropolitan economy with an annual domestic product of nearly 1.5 trillion USD, according to a 2008 study by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Although this data precedes the recent economic crisis and the earthquake of 2011, anyone who considers working in Tokyo will be relieved to hear that much of Tokyo’s economy is still going strong.

Beyond the city limits of Metropolitan Tokyo, the Kantō Region around Tokyo is Japan’s most urbanized and industrialized area. The people working in Tokyo and other cities of Kantō-chihō create up to 40% of Japan’s economic power, comparable to the entire gross domestic product of a smaller country.

Working in Tokyo: The Current Economic Situation

The March 2011 earthquake and resulting reactor failures of a nuclear power plant in the Fukushima region will have a severe impact on the country’s overall economy. Exactly how they will influence the situation of people working in Tokyo, however, is still unclear.

While some of the economy has bounced back fairly quickly, the economic outcome of this natural disaster might have devastating long-term results because the huge repair costs and the ongoing energy shortages have an adverse effect on Japan’s economy.  Expats working in Tokyo should thus keep an eye on current developments.

Working in Tokyo: Important Sectors

Expatriates interested in working in Tokyo have a huge advantage if they are employed in one of Japan’s growth sectors. Reflecting both the challenges of Japan’s ageing population and the nation’s vanguard position with regard to sophisticated technology, certain fields are relevant for foreigners who plan on working in Tokyo. Medical technology and the health-care sector, industrial design and brand marketing catering to “silver” consumers as well as bio-tech and nano-technology offer employment opportunities for qualified staff working in Tokyo.

Working in Tokyo: Employment in the Kantō Region

However, anyone keen on working in Tokyo or its neighboring cities may also receive an assignment or find a job if they bring professional experience in more traditional industries. Yokohama, Tokyo’s neighbor to the south, is especially strong in the international shipping business – small wonder for a busy port city. Quite a few expats who wanted to be working in Tokyo thus found themselves moving to Yokohama instead (about a 90-minute commute from Tokyo’s central wards).

Apart from Yokohama, working in Tokyo could mean working in places such as Kawasaki or Saitama, too. Squeezed between Tokyo and Yokohama, the former is not only home to several well-known brand names from the field of high-tech (e.g. Fujitsu or Toshiba), but also a regional center for people working in Tokyo’s heavy industry.

Or if you don’t mind working in Tokyo’s northern environs, you could settle in Saitama as well. It is an important regional hub for food production, automobile engineering, the manufacturing of optical products, and the pharmaceutical industry.