Japan

Japan represents a unique and complex market. Long resistant to outsiders due to the lifetime employment culture, it is now opening up as the market is driven by critical labor shortages and the urgency of digital transformation.

It is a scarcity-driven market. Unlike China (speed) or Taiwan (succession), Japan hires interim managers to fill the gap of qualified local talent capable of driving change.

• Key Drivers:
  • Digital Transformation (DX): Japanese conglomerates (Keiretsu) lag in digitalization. They are aggressively hiring external CIOs and project leads to modernize obsolete legacy systems.
  • Globalization & M&A: Large Japanese groups are acquiring foreign companies to find growth that no longer exists domestically. They need bi-cultural interim managers to manage Post-Merger Integration (PMI).
  • Demographic Crisis: With a shrinking workforce, companies can no longer find internal successors for leadership roles, opening the door to experienced external executives (often active retirees or foreign experts).
• High-Demand Sectors:
  • Technology & IT: Cybersecurity, ERP integration (SAP), and Cloud migration.
  • Pharma & MedTech: A highly dynamic sector due to the aging population; strong need for regulatory affairs and product launches.
  • Renewable Energy Wind and hydrogen projects requiring international expertise not found locally.

For accelerated recruitment of senior executives in Japan or interim managers, you can contact Gilles Debry who has a deep experience of Japanese corporations

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