Why this seat is different in Japan
This is the top HR seat in the entity, whatever the title says. The person is the company's labour-law function, its recruiter, its payroll controller and its culture carrier, and they do it alone with a labour consultant (社労士) on a monthly retainer. Hire someone who has only ever been part of a large HR department and the statutory work will slip.
The title creates expectations in both directions. Japanese candidates read "Manager" as having reports; many will accept a sole-charge role but want it said plainly. HQ reads "HR Manager" as junior and sets a budget below the market for someone who can run labour compliance in Japanese and report in English. The bilingual, compliance-capable generalist at this level is the single most frequently requested HR profile in our searches, and the pool does not match the demand.
General affairs (総務) is often bundled in: office lease, vendor contracts, company cars, the fire warden list. Decide whether that is part of the job and say so, because it changes who applies.
Purpose of the role
Run every part of HR for the Japan entity: recruit and onboard, keep the company compliant with Japanese labour law, manage the payroll and benefits vendors, handle employee relations, and give the Managing Director and regional HR a reliable picture of the Japan workforce.
Key responsibilities
Recruitment and onboarding
- Run hiring end to end with agencies and direct channels, including offers, contracts and visa support where needed.
- Onboard new hires: contracts, social insurance enrolment, equipment, orientation.
Labour compliance and HR operations
- Maintain the work rules (就業規則) and the overtime agreement (36協定), and manage filings with the labour office and social insurance office.
- Manage the payroll vendor and year-end tax adjustment (年末調整), leave balances and the five-day paid-leave obligation, and working-hour records.
- Run the 社労士 relationship and act on their advice.
Employee relations
- Be the first point of contact for employee concerns, harassment reports and performance issues, and escalate to the MD and regional HR when needed.
- Support managers on performance conversations within Japanese legal constraints.
Reward and benefits
- Administer salary reviews and bonus cycles under the global framework, benefits enrolment and commuting allowances.
HQ interface
- Produce headcount, attrition and cost reporting for regional HR in English. Localise global policies.
Candidate profile
Must have
- Six or more years of HR generalist experience in Japan, with at least two running HR for an entity or site alone or as the lead.
- Practical labour-law competence: work rules, overtime agreements, exits, leave law, social insurance.
- Experience in a foreign-capital company with HQ reporting.
Preferred
- Payroll vendor transition or HRIS implementation.
- General affairs experience if the role includes it.
- A professional labour qualification (社会保険労務士) is a plus, not a requirement.
Language
- Japanese at native level for all statutory and employee-facing work.
- English at business level for HQ reporting and policy work. Reading and writing matter more than presentation polish.
Decide before you post
- Reports or no reports, and whether a part-time assistant or the office manager sits under this role.
- General affairs in or out.
- The split of authority between the MD and regional HR on pay decisions and exits.
- Hybrid arrangements. Sole-charge HR usually needs to be in the office more than others; say how much.
- Whether the first-year task is building from scratch, fixing a backlog, or maintaining a stable function.
How hard is this hire
Moderate, with a long tail. There are many HR managers in Tokyo and few who combine real labour-law competence with English good enough for HQ. Expect two to four months. Budgets set at ¥8M or below in Tokyo will produce candidates who are strong in one language and weak in the other. The common failure is hiring an HR operations specialist from a large company who has never had to decide anything alone.
Interview questions that separate candidates
- You arrive and the work rules were last filed five years ago. What do you check first?
- Tell me about an employee exit you ran without a lawyer in the room.
- How do you handle a manager who wants to dismiss someone for performance after three months?
- What does your monthly 社労士 meeting cover, and what do you not outsource?
- Describe the HQ report you produce and how you reconcile headcount with finance.
