The Real Reason Why Hiring Engineers in Japan Is So Hard

In Japan, we often hear that there’s an “engineer shortage.” But the real problem lies elsewhere.

The root cause is rigid employment regulations — specifically, the difficulty of terminating employees.

Top Engineers Are Out There

First, let’s be clear: it’s not that Japan lacks engineers.

Top talent tends to either:

• Job-hop repeatedly in search of better opportunities
• Go independent as freelancers

In other words, the best engineers are often already on the market — they just don’t stay at one company for long.

Why Companies Still Can’t Hire Them

The problem is on the company side.

In Japan, once you hire someone as a full-time employee, it’s extremely difficult to let them go.

As a result, companies:

• Become overly cautious about hiring
• Hesitate even when candidates are clearly qualified
• Reduce hiring overall to minimize risk

Engineers Are “High-Cost Talent”

On top of that, engineers:

• Command significantly higher salaries than administrative staff
• Become a fixed cost burden under long-term employment

Yet in Japan, companies can’t easily part ways with these high-cost employees.

The result?

👉 Companies end up in a state where they want to hire but can’t afford the risk.

What Happens Instead

Companies avoid direct full-time hires and turn to alternatives:

• Outsource to SI vendors (specialized development firms)
• Engage freelancers on a project basis

In other words, in Japan:

👉 Outsourcing is more rational than building an in-house engineering team.

This has become a structural norm.

The Takeaway

The real reason hiring engineers in Japan is so hard is not a talent shortage.

It’s the lack of employment flexibility.

In One Sentence

👉 Japan isn’t a market where you “can’t find engineers.” 👉 It’s a market where the system makes it hard to hire them.