Executive search in Japan
How a search for a senior leader in Japan is run, what retained, exclusive and contingent engagements mean here, what they cost and how long they take. Written for the HR and business leaders in Tokyo, Yokohama and across Japan who have to choose a firm.
By Yan Sen Lu, Founder & Managing Director, Makana Partners · Editor of The Hardest Market · Updated
The market
Why hiring a leader in Japan is a search, not a posting
The people who can run a Japanese business for a foreign owner are few, employed, and not reading job boards.
A country manager, CFO or head of HR for a foreign-owned company in Japan needs business Japanese, working English, the credibility to manage a Japanese organisation and the fluency to report to a regional or global line. That pool is small, and most of it is settled: lifetime-employment habits mean senior people move rarely and almost never apply. Job postings and contingent agencies reach the minority who are looking. A search reaches the majority who are not.
That is why the largest share of our work for leadership roles is retained or exclusive, and why we say so plainly when a role would be better served by a contingent brief. The figures below show the shape of the market we search in.
Japan’s leadership market in numbers
Why the right candidate is rarely looking
Administrative and managerial workers average 51.5 years old and 22.6 years of tenure. MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025
The separation rate for regular employees aged 50–54 in 2025, against 25.1% at 20–24. MHLW, Survey on Employment Trends 2025
The share of non-new-graduate hires that came through private placement agencies, in the latest complete breakdown (2022). MHLW, Survey on Employment Trends
The median across 3,035 listed companies’ latest annual securities reports, filed October 2025 to September 2026. EDINET disclosures
Read together, these describe the problem a search solves. Japan’s managers have spent more than two decades with their employer, and people in their early fifties leave their jobs at a third of the rate of people in their early twenties. Agencies fill a small share of hires overall; in our experience, the senior bilingual seats are where that share is concentrated, because nobody in those seats applies. And at the median listed company, more than nine in ten managers are men, so a slate that looks different has to be built on purpose.
Figures processed by The Hardest Market, our research on Japan’s talent market, from Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare statistics and companies’ annual securities reports filed on EDINET. Each figure links to the full data and its source.
Three ways to engage
Retained, exclusive or contingent
The three models differ in commitment, in who pays for the search work, and in how much of the market gets covered. All three are run by the same consultants to the same standard.
Retained search
For C-suite, country-head and business-critical roles. We are engaged exclusively, paid in instalments across the search, and commit a consultant team until the role is filled. The whole market is mapped and approached, including people who are not looking.
Exclusive search
For senior roles where you want one firm's full attention without a retainer. We hold the brief alone for an agreed period, run a full search and are paid on the hire. Best when the role is clear and speed matters more than market mapping.
Contingent search
For mid-to-senior roles with a reasonable pool of candidates. You pay only when a candidate we introduce starts, and you may brief other agencies too. We draw first on candidates already known to us, so it is fast, but it does not cover the market.
| Retained | Exclusive | Contingent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | C-suite, country head, confidential succession, roles where a first attempt failed | Director and senior manager roles with a clear brief | Manager and specialist roles with a known candidate pool |
| Who else works on it | Nobody: exclusive to us | Nobody, for the agreed period | Other agencies, if you choose |
| Market coverage | Full market map and direct approach | Targeted search plus our network | Our network and database |
| Fee timing | Instalments: engagement, shortlist, completion | On the hire | On the hire |
| Reporting | Weekly progress, written candidate appraisals, assessment of finalists | Regular progress and written appraisals | Candidate submissions as they arise |
Retain a firm when
- The role reports to the board, the region or global headquarters.
- The pool is small enough to map name by name, and most of it is not looking.
- The search has to be confidential, including replacing a current leader.
- A first attempt, by your own team or an agency, has already failed.
- The hire has to build something from nothing: a function, a team or a market entry.
Use a contingent brief when
- The role is a manager or specialist seat with a known candidate pool.
- You need candidates this month and can interview several in parallel.
- The brief is standard and the pay is at or above the market.
- You are happy for more than one agency to work on it.
We say which one a role needs at the first briefing, including when the cheaper model is the better buy.
What a retained search includes
Five steps, meticulously executed
Establish search priorities
- Briefing with the hiring manager and the regional or global stakeholder.
- A written position and candidate specification you approve before we go to market.
- The search strategy shaped to your priorities: speed, confidentiality, diversity of the slate.
Map the market
- Target companies and the people in the equivalent seats, in Japan and, where relevant, Japanese nationals abroad.
- A research list you see, so you can rule names in or out early.
- Off-limits companies honoured.
Approach and evaluate
- Direct, confidential approaches by a consultant, in Japanese or English as the candidate prefers.
- Competency-based interviews against the specification.
- A shortlist, usually within four to six weeks, with written appraisals.
Present and assess
- Interview scheduling and feedback loops with Tokyo and the regional line.
- Leadership assessment of finalists, with feedback to both sides.
- Referencing, and background checks where required.
Close and land
- Offer construction and negotiation, including the counter-offer that senior Japanese candidates usually receive.
- Contact through the notice period, which in Japan is commonly one to three months at senior level.
- Check-ins through the first months in the role.
Fees and timelines
What it costs and how long it takes
Fees. Our fees are typically 30–40% of the hire’s first-year total cash compensation. Where a search falls in that range depends on the seniority of the role, the scarcity of the profile and the confidentiality required. On a role paying ¥20 million in first-year total cash, that is ¥6 million to ¥8 million, before consumption tax.
A retained fee is invoiced in instalments across the search: on engagement, at shortlist and on completion. Exclusive and contingent fees are invoiced when the candidate starts. Every engagement begins with a written proposal that states the fee, the guarantee period and what is included. To see what a hire costs in total, including the employer’s social insurance, use our cost of hire calculator.
For scale: average annual pay for administrative and managerial workers in Japan was ¥9.67 million in 2025, and ¥11.82 million at companies with 1,000 or more employees (MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025, private establishments with ten or more staff).
Timelines. A retained shortlist is usually presented within four to six weeks of the approved specification. Most retained searches in Japan complete in three to four months from briefing to accepted offer. Add the notice period before the start date. A contingent brief can produce first candidates within days, because it draws on people we already know.
Guarantee. If a placed candidate leaves within the guarantee period stated in the proposal, we re-run the search at no additional professional fee.
What makes Japan different
- Candidates are passive. Senior people rarely apply. They are approached, and the approach has to be made well, in the right language, by someone they will take a call from.
- Counter-offers are normal. A good candidate's current employer will usually try to keep them. We plan for it from the first conversation.
- Notice periods are long. One to three months is common at senior level, and a bonus date can add more. A search started in January rarely has someone at their desk before summer.
- Bilingual is a spectrum. Most briefs say "fluent English" and "native Japanese"; most hires need business English and native Japanese, or the reverse. Setting the real bar early widens the pool and shortens the search.
- Discretion is expected. Reputations in Japan travel inside industries. Confidential searches, and the handling of candidates who decline, are part of the craft.
For market data behind these points, see The Hardest Market, our research on Japan's talent market, and How Hard Is This HR Hire? for a read on a specific role.
For foreign-owned companies
Four issues to settle before the offer
Most of our searches are for companies whose headquarters are outside Japan. These are the points that most often decide whether a finalist accepts, and how well the hire works once they start.
The representative director appointment
If the hire will run the Japanese company, decide early whether they will also be its representative director (代表取締役). The title gives them legal authority to act for and bind the company, it is a board decision recorded in the commercial register, and taking it away later is a separate step from ending the directorship or the employment. Candidates notice the difference: the title carries weight with clients and in their own network, so it belongs in the offer conversation, not after it. The Hardest Market glossary explains how the role works.
The reporting line
A country manager or functional head in a foreign-owned company usually reports to a regional headquarters elsewhere in Asia or to a global function, while running a Japanese organisation day to day. The hire has to be credible on both sides, and the interview process has to test both. We brief regional interviewers on what a Japanese candidate will and will not say in a first meeting, and brief candidates on what the region is looking for.
Bonus timing
Most Japanese employers pay a bonus (賞与) twice a year, in summer and winter, expressed in months of salary. Senior candidates watch those dates, and a resignation is often timed to follow one. An offer that ignores the bonus calendar either has to buy it out or accept a later start date. See shoyo in the glossary.
Employment terms
Japan has no at-will employment: a dismissal without objectively reasonable grounds is void, and the employee keeps their job and back pay. Probation, the scope of the role and the termination terms therefore matter more than in many markets, and are worth agreeing with your employment lawyer before the offer is made. The glossary covers dismissal and probation.
Who runs your search
Led by the founder
Yan Sen Lu founded Makana Partners and leads its searches for country managers and functional heads in HR, sales and marketing. With more than 18 years of experience, he has worked with Fortune 500 corporations, high-growth start-ups and PE-backed companies, from market entry to succession planning, on retained and contingent search, talent mapping and advisory.
He is the editor of The Hardest Market, our research on Japan’s talent market, and the author of the book The Hardest Market in the World. The data on this page comes from that work.
Each retained search has a named lead consultant from the first briefing to the start date, working with the Makana consultants who cover the function and the industry.
- 50,000+ candidates in our network
- 100+ years of combined search experience across the team
- Licensed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare for fee-charging placement, licence 14-ユ-301351
Recent searches
How four searches were run
Client names are withheld. Each case links to the full write-up by the consultant who ran it.
Exclusive search · HR leadership
Senior HR business partner, global consumer brand
A European-headquartered consumer brand of about 30,000 people needed a successor for a Senior HR Business Partner whose scope matched an HR director’s, in a Japan office of fewer than 100. The process ran to six or seven steps, including a case study, and the client wanted the search closed within three months. We had introduced the predecessor more than a decade earlier. The search closed in two months.
Read the case study →Retained search · Succession
President, listed Japanese manufacturer
The owner-president of a publicly traded plastics processor with around 1,000 employees, three plants in Japan and two overseas, was retiring and selling the company to a fund. We worked with him to turn a “superman” brief into a realistic profile and took four finalists to interview. One was appointed president; the company created a new role over manufacturing and technology for another.
Read the case study →Country manager · Market entry
Country manager, Singapore technology start-up
A fast-growing digital technology company headquartered in Singapore needed a bilingual country manager to lead its entry into Japan and build a team from nothing. The strongest candidate, a country manager at a fintech company, had personally hired more than half of his team and was reluctant to leave them. He accepted the offer and now leads the company’s expansion into Japan.
Read the case study →First engagement · Financial services
Business development, global alternative investment firm
A US-headquartered alternative investment manager of about 1,900 people engaged us for the first time on a business development role in its Financial Institutions Group, after major agencies had already submitted candidates. We widened the search beyond Japan and presented three candidates, all of whom were interviewed. The hire, an overseas-based candidate, was chosen from a field of about 40.
Read the case study →Client Testimonials
Trusted by leaders across Japan
Yan Sen is very customer-focused and moderates the interests of candidates and clients very well.
He’s supportive, responsive, and open-minded — one of the best agents I want a long-term relationship with.
I recently partnered with Yan Sen and found him to be authentic, professional and a true partner in navigating the challenging HR talent pool.
Choosing a firm
Six questions to ask any executive search firm in Japan
Whichever firm you speak to, including us, these answers tell you most of what you need to know before you sign.
- Who will run the search? The person who pitches should be the person who calls candidates, in Japanese and in English.
- How is the fee built? A retainer in instalments or a fee on the hire; what percentage, of what base, and when each part is invoiced.
- What does the guarantee cover? How long it runs, and whether a replacement search carries a further professional fee.
- Is the firm licensed? A firm that charges for placement in Japan needs a licence from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. Ours is 14-ユ-301351.
- What will you see before the shortlist? You should see the target companies and the names being approached, not only the finalists.
- Who can the firm not approach? A firm that recruits for many clients has off-limits rules. Ask what they are and whether any of your target companies fall inside them.
Where we search
Functions and industries
C-suite and country management
Country manager, representative director, CEO, COO and the leaders who report to them.
Human resources
Head of HR and HR director, HR business partner, talent acquisition, C&B. A core practice for us.
Finance
CFO, finance director, controller and FP&A leadership, and front-office roles across financial services.
Sales and marketing
Commercial leaders who can grow a foreign brand in a Japanese market.
Technology
CIO, CTO, heads of engineering, infrastructure, security and data.
Industries
Financial services, technology, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, professional services and consumer.
Questions clients ask before retaining a firm
What is the difference between retained and contingent executive search in Japan?
How much does executive search cost in Japan?
How long does a retained executive search take in Japan?
Do you handle confidential searches, including replacing a current leader?
Which roles and functions do you search for?
Where are you based, and do you search outside Tokyo?
Does an executive search firm in Japan need a licence?
What does a search firm in Japan need from us to start?
Start with a conversation
Tell us about the role.
We will tell you how we would search for it.
A thirty-minute briefing is enough for us to say whether the role is a retained, exclusive or contingent search, what the market looks like and what it will take. You get that read whether or not you engage us.
Request a proposal →