Seeking advice: Starting a tech career in Japan as a dependent-visa holder
Hi everyone, posting this on behalf of my wife — hoping to get some honest, practical advice from people who've navigated something similar.
A bit of background: She's an Indian national, 25F, living in Kanagawa on a dependent visa. She has a Bachelor's in Computer Science and Engineering from India (2023), and worked as a Frontend Engineer at Capgemini Bangalore for about 8 months, followed by ~6 months at a startup. She left that job when we got married and moved to Japan in 2025.
Her technical background: solid HTML5/CSS3, and working familiarity with React, TypeScript, JavaScript, and Bootstrap (used on the job with senior guidance, not deeply independent yet).
She's been job hunting for entry-level frontend roles in Tokyo and Kanagawa, and the recurring feedback has been "we can teach the programming side, but we need you to know Japanese first." So since December 2025 she's been studying seriously — sat the JLPT N5 in July 2026 (feeling good about it) and is now working toward N4. In the meantime she's also working part-time as an English teacher at an Eiken school in the Kanagawa area.
We'd really appreciate any perspective on a few things:
- How realistic is entry-level frontend hiring right now? From what we've seen, entry-level frontend roles seem to be getting more competitive generally (AI-assisted coding tools seem to be part of this), and smaller companies/startups often expect N2–N1 level Japanese even for junior roles. Is that read on the market accurate, or are we missing something?
- Would pivoting toward AI-adjacent skills help? Her husband (me) has been encouraging her to look into Agentic AI, RAG, and LLM-related skills, though she's largely new to this area beyond watching some intro videos. Is there realistic demand in Tokyo/Kanagawa for entry-level candidates who combine conversational Japanese with foundational AI knowledge and a portfolio of projects/certifications? If so, which specific skills or tools would actually move the needle for a beginner, and where would people recommend learning them? She's also been considering other adjacent paths — for example, UI/UX Engineering with tools like Figma — as something that might be more approachable to break into and still build on her frontend background. Would love thoughts on whether that's a reasonable direction too, or if there are other roles worth considering.
- Part-time work has also been surprisingly hard to break into. Even for English teaching positions, a lot of postings ask for prior teaching experience or certifications from the home country. Given that, she's weighing a plan to focus on Japanese up to N2 before job hunting seriously again — but that likely means another 1–1.5 years, during which she'd also want to keep her programming/AI skills current so she isn't starting from scratch. Naturally, we're a bit concerned about how a 3–4 year gap (Japanese study + part-time work) might read to employers down the line. Any advice on how to frame that gap, or ways to minimize it?
If anyone has been through something similar — or has hired junior engineers in Japan and can share what actually matters on a resume — we'd really value your perspective. Thanks in advance!