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how to write a professional resume for japan job market

This guide explains how to write a professional resume for the Japanese job market, focusing on the essential Rirekisho and Shokumukeirekisho documents. Learn the formal language and cultural nuances required to build trust and succeed in your application.

Updated September 2, 202617 min read7 sections

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How to Write a Professional Resume for Japan: Rirekisho and Shokumukeirekisho

For many Japanese applications, prepare a structured 履歴書 and a detailed 職務経歴書. Follow the employer’s format, then tailor your experience and achievements to the vacancy. Some international employers accept a free-format CV instead.

A resume for Japan is really two documents. There is the 履歴書, a fixed-form sheet with boxes you cannot move. Then there is the 職務経歴書, a free-format CV where you write out your career in Japanese prose. Get these right and the rest is detail.

Below is what we have verified against official Japanese government sources as of October 2026, plus what the labour market actually looks like right now.

The Japan job market in October 2026, and what your resume for Japan competes in

The Japanese job market in 2026 is tight on paper and tight in practice, but not the way most commentary claims. Japan’s unemployment rate was 2.5% in August 2026 on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the Labour Force Survey (August 2026 results) published by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications on 2 October 2026. That figure sits alongside a World Bank annual reading of 2.451% for calendar year 2025, so the levels are consistent across sources.

Japan’s job openings-to-applicants ratio was 1.18 times in August 2026, unchanged from July, according to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare’s General Employment Placement Situation, August 2026, released 2 October 2026. The full-time employee ratio sat exactly at 1.00, which tells you something important about the shape of this market.

The 1.00 regular full-time employee ratio is an aggregate Hello Work placement indicator, not a count of competitors for each vacancy. Its denominator includes non-part-time applicants seeking other employment forms, including dispatch and contract work. Rounded national ratios do not establish one rival for every job or describe every occupation and region.

Two other numbers frame the search:

  • 大卒求人倍率 (new graduate job-offer ratio) was 1.62 for 2027 graduates, down from 1.66 for 2026 graduates, per Recruit Works Institute’s 43rd survey published 23 April 2026. Average starting salary for April 2026 graduates reached ¥237,000.
  • 15–24 year olds made up 210,000 of the 1.80 million completely unemployed in August 2026 (Statistics Bureau). The youth rate remains low, which is why the yens of competition concentrate at the experienced end.

The demand side is segmented. In the same MHLW release, new job postings fell 3.4% year-on-year overall, but rose 3.9% in manufacturing and 3.3% in information and communications. Accommodation and food services fell 11.1%. If you are writing a resume for Japan with an IT or manufacturing profile, you are writing into the growing half of the market.

What is a rirekisho?

履歴書 (rirekisho) is a structured Japanese employment-history form. The MHLW standard example is available as two A4 pages or one A3 sheet. Follow the employer’s requested format rather than assuming it must fit on one A4 page.

The current official template is the 厚生労働省履歴書様式例, hosted on the Hello Work Internet Service page on writing 履歴書 and 職務経歴書. Two features of that form trip up almost every foreign applicant:

  1. The gender field is optional and may be left blank. It is a free-text field, not a 男/女 checkbox, and leaving it empty costs you nothing.
  2. The photo box is labelled 「写真をはる必要がある場合」, meaning “paste a photo here if one is required.” It is conditional, not mandatory, on the official form.

The form was revised after the Japanese Standards Association dropped its own sample from the JIS standards commentary in July 2020, with the MHLW creating its own example in response. That revision removed four fields: 通勤時間 (commuting time), 扶養家族数 (number of dependents), 配偶者 (spouse), and 配偶者の扶養義務 (spouse’s dependent obligation). The reasoning was fairness in selection.

One thing we could not verify, and want to be straight about: you will read claims online that Japan replaced the official rirekisho on 1 April 2025 with a version that drops date of birth and age and adds a QR code. We checked the current MHLW template and Hello Work’s own guidance, and the form published there still carries a 年 月 日生（満 歳）field for date of birth and age, with no QR code anywhere on it. Treat that specific claim as unverified. The template version you hand in is the one the employer or Hello Work gives you.

Do I need a shokumukeirekisho to work in Japan?

Yes, in practice, for almost any mid-career or specialist role. 職務経歴書 (shokumukeirekisho) is the detailed, free-format work-history document where you describe each role, your responsibilities, and measurable results. It is the document that carries the argument.

The MHLW’s own guide, 職務経歴書の作り方 (How to write a shokumu keirekisho), defines it plainly: an A4 portrait document of roughly one to two pages, in a free format, detailing the duties you have performed. It also states that employers increasingly ask for it in addition to the rirekisho, precisely because the fixed-form boxes cannot hold the detail that hiring managers want.

Critically, that same guide says something that contradicts standard resume coaching: reusing one version across multiple employers is “not appropriate.” Every shokumukeirekisho should be rebuilt for the company in front of you.

Rirekisho vs shokumukeirekisho

履歴書 (rirekisho) 職務経歴書 (shokumukeirekisho)
Format Fixed boxes, cannot be moved Free format
Length Standard MHLW example: two A4 pages or one A3 sheet A4 portrait, 1–2 pages
Photo Conditional box on official form No photo field at all
Register です・ます調 throughout 名詞止め by default; polite endings in 自己PR and 志望動機
Body font Handwritten or printed 10.5–12 pt
Era system 和暦 or 西暦, pick one and hold it 和暦 or 西暦, pick one and hold it
Tailoring Minimal Mandatory, per employer
Who asks for it Almost everyone Mid-career, specialist, and most foreign applicants

Which document does each applicant type need?

Applicant profile 履歴書 職務経歴書 Notes
New graduate in Japan Yes Sometimes Forms often supplied by the university career centre
Early-career Japanese, 1–3 years Yes Often Career history is short, so expand the 志望動機
Mid-career returnee Yes Yes Expect the CV to carry the load
Foreign professional on Engineer/HIS visa Yes Yes Often submitted in Japanese and English together
Engineer at a firm with an English ATS Sometimes Free-format CV instead Some firms drop the fixed form entirely
Global firm using its own online form Usually not Not always Check the employer’s own instructions first

Do Japanese resumes need a photo?

The official MHLW rirekisho template has a photo box marked conditional, and the 職務経歴書 has none at all. In real hiring practice, a photo is still expected on the rirekisho for most Japanese employers, and many large firms treat its absence as a sign the applicant did not take the process seriously. We have not found a reliable count of employers that mandate it, so treat that as practice rather than rule.

When a photo is used, the Hello Work guidance pamphlet 応募書類の作り方 is specific. The photo must show the applicant alone, front-facing, from the chest up, against a plain background, with no hat. Casual snapshots are not acceptable. Shoot it within roughly six months of applying, paste it firmly with glue rather than cellophane tape, and write your name on the back so it cannot be confused with anyone else’s. For attire, the same document recommends a suit with a collar, and for women notes that see-through fabric, heavy lace, and prominent accessories are not favoured.

Two hard rules from the same source that people get wrong. Write in a black ballpoint, and never use correction fluid, correction tape, double-striking, or a correction stamp. If you make a mistake, the guidance says to start again on a fresh sheet.

How do I write the Japanese without sounding foreign?

The register is where most English-speaking candidates lose the room. Japan runs on keigo (敬語), polite language, and the difference between humble and polite register is not decoration. It signals where you place yourself socially.

For a 職務経歴書, the MHLW pamphlet prescribes a specific split. Body lines describing duties end in 名詞止め (体言止め), a noun ending with no verb, like 〜を担当 or 〜に従事. Self-introduction and motivation sections use a polite ending instead, 〜を担当しました. The result reads firm and factual in the work history, and warm in the personal sections. This is not stylistic flair. It is the convention.

Two more conventions from the same official pamphlet:

  • Never use 〃 or 同上 or 同社. Every employer name, school name, and qualification must be written out in full, formally. 株式会社, never (株).
  • Never write 御社 in a document. That is spoken register. The document form is 貴社. The pamphlet gives the full set: 貴法人, 貴団体, 貴行, 貴校, 貴園, 貴院, 貴事務所, 貴庁, 貴省, 貴局, 貴所, 貴店.

For the 履歴書, the Hello Work pamphlet is unambiguous: keep the whole document in です・ます調 and keep the era system consistent, either all 和暦 or all 西暦. Japanese-language career guidance notes that 西暦 has become the general expectation when applying to foreign-invested firms and IT companies, but consistency matters more than the choice.

Should I exaggerate to stand out?

Keep titles, dates, qualifications and results accurate. Some employers use reference or background checks, particularly for experienced hires; practices vary.

In back check’s July 2026 survey of 1,000 HR professionals, 79.9% of respondents said candidate-provided information alone was insufficient for a hiring decision, and 56.9% identified personality and working style as information they wanted beyond application documents. Around 60% reported using or evaluating reference checks. These findings describe the survey sample and do not establish a universal Japanese hiring practice.

Use claims you can substantiate and proofread each employer-specific application carefully.

How do I write the 日本語 that recruiters trust?

Write in plain, concrete sentences and let the numbers do the persuading. Japanese business writing dislikes abstraction. “I was responsible for sales operations” tells a recruiter nothing. “法人顧客120社を担当。月次売上は前年同月比12％増。” tells them something they can picture.

A reliable pattern for every job entry runs: company name and headcount, your department, the period, what you were asked to do, what you did, what changed as a result. The MHLW pamphlet asks for exactly this set when it lists what to reflect on: 時期 (period), 入社・配属・異動・昇格・退社 (the nature of the move), 勤務先 (employer), 会社概要 (business and headcount), 所属 (department and its size), 役職 (role and direct reports), 職務内容 (duties), 実績 (results and how you got them).

Results need a mechanism. The pamphlet’s example shows a salesperson who found that urgent print demand was costing the team time, proposed a same-day service internally, launched it, and lifted revenue 12% year-on-year. The structure is cause, action, result. Nothing in it is boastful, and nothing in it is vague.

How do I build a shokumukeirekisho?

The MHLW pamphlet gives a six-step build, and we have followed it here because it holds up.

  1. Reconstruct your career chronologically. For every role, write down the period, the type of move, the company, its business and headcount, your department and its size, your title and direct reports, your actual duties, and your results.
  2. Pull out the exceptions. Awards, unusual projects (a new store opening, a restructuring, a large system migration), and any assignment that was not part of the normal job.
  3. Inventory your evidence. Qualifications, software skills, language ability, in-house training, vocational training, business-related study, your network, self-directed study.
  4. Build one master sheet containing everything. Keep it complete. Do not send it anywhere. You will cut it down for each application.
  5. Choose the headings, then cut. The pamphlet recommends three to six headings beyond the mandatory opening block. Mandatory items are only the title, your name, the date, and 職務経歴.
  6. Lay it out and proofread. Body text at 10.5 to 12 pt, generous margins, especially on the left, because recruiters file these pages physically. Read it back out loud once.

The pre-application checklist

  • Confirm which document set the employer actually wants, by reading their posting twice
  • Check whether they specify 和暦 or 西暦 and match it
  • Confirm whether the language must be Japanese, English, or both
  • Confirm whether they want a photo and whether it must be recent
  • Decide your 応募職種 wording, copying their own job title from the posting
  • Match your document’s date to your actual submission date, not the day you wrote it
  • Remove every 〃, 同上, 同社, and (株)
  • Replace 御社 with 貴社 throughout
  • Read for typos in Japanese, then for consistency of register
  • Save a copy, because interview questions will be based on what you submitted

What is 自己PR and do I need it?

自己PR (jiko PR) is a written self-introduction that appears as a box on the 履歴書 and, more often, as a heading on the 職務経歴書. On the MHLW’s own 履歴書様式例 there is no separate 自己PR box. The space is labelled 志望の動機、特技、好きな学科、アピールポイントなど, which bundles motivation, skills, and self-selling into one field. On the 職務経歴書, 自己PR is a free heading you may add.

Write it in polite form. This is one of the two sections where the pamphlet explicitly asks for a ていねいな文体, ending in 〜ました rather than a bare noun. Three or four sentences is enough. State what you are good at, back it with one concrete example, and connect it to the role.

Complete 職務経歴書 template (illustrative example)

Everything below is fictional. Company names are placeholders written in the form 日本様式 ○○, and no real person or firm is depicted.

職務経歴書

2026年10月1日現在
samplename.sample@example.com
山田 太郎（やまだ たろう）　　090-XXXX-XXXX

【応募職種】
法人営業

【最終学歴】
2013年3月　サンプル大学 経済学部 経営学科 卒業

【職歴概要】
法人営業を13年間担当し、通算約480社への提案営業、見積作成、契約手続きまでを一貫して担当。
2019年から営業課長として、部下6名の育成と月次営業進捗の管理を担当。

【職務経歴】

2013年4月　サンプル株式会社 入社（東京都・従業員1,200名）
【事業内容】建設資材の販売、設備設計支援、保守サービス
2013年4月　営業部 第1営業課に配属
【職務内容】建設資材の法人営業。図面確認、見積作成、納期調整を担当
【実績】3年目までに担当顧客を45社から92社へ拡大し、担当売上が対前年度比18%増

2016年6月　サンプル株式会社 第2営業課へ異動
【職務内容】大手ゼネコン向けの対応。仕様書の作成、見積原価の算出、入札交渉を担当
【実績】同一仕様における見積作成時間を平均約6時間短縮し、1件あたりの受注対応件数を増加

2019年4月　営業課長に昇格
【職務内容】営業課の運営、部下6名の教育、月次予実数値の管理、主要客先との折衝を担当
【実績】3年間連続で課内の売上目標を達成し、2024年度は課内売上が前年度比9%増
【表彰】2022年度 社内営業表彰（営業成績部門）受賞

2024年7月　一身上の都合により退社

2025年1月　サンプル不動産株式会社 入社（東京都・従業員80名）
【事業内容】不動産の仲介および賃貸管理
2025年1月　法人営業部に配属
【職務内容】法人向けの賃貸紹介、および物件情報の整理を担当
【実績】内見から成約までの平均対応日数を9日から5日へ短縮

【活かせる能力】
・既存顧客からの継続受注の獲得（直近3期の平均継続率82%）
・部門全体の月次数値管理および部下の育成
・Excel、PowerPoint、建設CAD（実務3年）

【自己PR】
私は13年間、顧客の工事計画と予算の都合を最初に確認し、供給の制約を先回りして調整することを優先してきました。
過去には、受注確定後に資材の納期が不足する状況を検知し、代替工場と納期を再調整することで納期遅延を回避した経験があります。
現在の勤務先でも同様の方針を継続し、顧客対応の一貫性を大切にしています。

【資格・語学】
・宅地建物取引士（2018年 合格）
・実用英語検定 2級
・普通自動車第一種運転免許

Note what the template does. It uses 名詞止め in the job history, so lines end on a noun like 担当 or 増. It writes 株式会社 in full every time. It keeps 西暦 throughout, which suits an IT-adjacent or foreign-firm target, while 和暦 would be equally valid as long as it were consistent.

Can I submit my documents in English instead?

Sometimes. It depends entirely on the employer, and you should check before you write a word.

Some firms run a free-format process and accept English or Japanese interchangeably. Mercari’s careers page states plainly that the submission format is free, that there is no need to separate a 履歴書 from a 職務経歴書, that no content items are mandatory, and that documents may be written in Japanese or in English, with the language specified for teams where a particular one is required. Rakuten maintains a dedicated English-language Japan job board at japan-job-en.rakuten.careers.

Other firms, and most Japanese mid-size companies, want Japanese. Prepare accordingly. The safest default remains: send the Japanese documents, and hold an English CV as a supplement only if asked.

What are the visa rules for foreign candidates in 2026?

Immigration requirements depend on the status, activity, applicant and sponsoring organisation. State your current status accurately and consult the Immigration Services Agency’s instructions for the application you are making.

技術・人文知識・国際業務 (Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services) remains the main status for foreign professionals. It covers work requiring technical or specialist knowledge in science, law, economics, sociology, or other humanities fields, plus work requiring sensitivity grounded in foreign culture. Typical roles include mechanical engineers, interpreters, designers, private-sector language teachers, and marketing staff. Grants of stay run 5 years, 3 years, 1 year, or 3 months.

From April 15, 2026, additional documentation applies in specified cases, including certain applications involving Category 3 or Category 4 sponsoring organisations. Language evidence can be required for covered work mainly involving interpersonal duties that depend on language ability. This is not a blanket JLPT N2 or CEFR B2 requirement for every applicant under this status. Check the ISA’s current category-specific instructions for the representative declaration, accepted evidence and any applicable exceptions before filing.

介護 (Nursing care) requires the 介護福祉士 qualification. Since 1 April 2020, holding that qualification is sufficient regardless of which route to obtaining it you took. That status also now requires the same representative declaration from 15 April 2026, per the ISA’s 介護 page.

高度人材ポイント制 (Highly Skilled Professional points system) still uses 70 points as the pass mark. The ISA notes its 特別加算 (special additional points) rules were revised on 31 March 2026, and that the 高度人材上陸告示 and 高度人材在留指針 were abolished in March 2026.

Scale matters here. As of end-2025, 475,790 people held the 技術・人文知識・国際業務 status, according to the ISA’s 在留外国人数 (end-2025). Total foreign residents crossed 4 million for the first time, reaching 4,125,395, up 9.5% year-on-year. Separately, the MHLW reported approximately 2.57 million foreign workers employed by Japanese companies as of end-October 2025, a record high, in its 外国人雇用状況 report of 30 January 2026.

One more detail that catches people: residence card photos. Per the ISA, cards issued from 14 June 2026 require a photo from anyone aged one or over. Previously the exemption applied to those under 16.

Which recruitment channels should you use for job hunting in Japan?

Japan runs job hunting through a mix of public and private channels, and they behave differently from the rest of the world.

  • ハローワーク (Hello Work) is the national public employment service, operated by the MHLW. It operates physical offices, issues 紹介状 (referral letters), and runs seminars on exactly the documents discussed in this article. Its internet service also hosts the official MHLW 履歴書様式例.
  • Company career sites are the primary channel for large Japanese firms. Many run their own online application forms, which supersede both documents.
  • English-language job boards exist for foreign-focused hiring. Rakuten’s Japan board is one verified example.
  • JETRO’s 高度外国人材活躍推進ポータル is a free official resource for high-skilled foreign professionals, including Japanese-language study pathways and employer-matching events.
  • Specialist agencies concentrate by industry and often handle the shokumu keirekisho drafting for you.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a photo on a Japanese resume? The official MHLW template has a conditional photo box, and the 職務経歴書 has none. Practice at most Japanese employers still expects a recent, formal photo on the 履歴書, but we found no reliable statistic on how many require it.

Do I need a 職務経歴書 as well as a 履歴書? For any mid-career or specialist role, yes. The MHLW’s own guide says employers increasingly request both, because the fixed boxes cannot carry the detail they need.

What is the difference between a Japanese resume and a Western CV? The Japanese 履歴書 is a structured form; the MHLW example spans two A4 pages or one A3 sheet. The 職務経歴書 is a free-format work-history document, commonly one or two A4 pages. Follow the employer’s submission instructions.

Do Japanese employers check resumes for exaggeration? Some employers use reference checks. In back check’s July 2026 survey of 1,000 HR professionals, 79.9% of respondents felt candidate-provided information alone was insufficient. The sample does not establish a universal practice; keep your claims accurate.

Should I use 和暦 or 西暦 on my documents? Pick one and use it everywhere. 西暦 is the common expectation at foreign-invested firms and IT companies; 和暦 remains standard elsewhere. Mixing them within a document is the real error.

Can I write my 職務経歴書 by hand? Yes, in black ballpoint or fountain pen. Pencil and mechanical pencil are not permitted. Typed is more common and easier to format.

Do I need Japanese for a job in Japan? It depends on the employer, role and immigration category. English is accepted for some jobs. Additional language evidence may apply to specified language-dependent interpersonal work under 技術・人文知識・国際業務; check ISA instructions for your application and sponsoring organisation.

How long should a Japanese resume be? The standard MHLW 履歴書 example is two A4 pages or one A3 sheet. The 職務経歴書 is commonly one or two A4 portrait pages, with relevant attachments when appropriate. Follow any employer-specific format or limit.

Sources

Filed under

International Job MarketsCountry-Specific Resume Guides

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