Part-Time Jobs in Japan: Foreign Students Prefer Customer Service Positions

According to a January 2023 part-time work survey of 1,000 international students in Japan, 69.9% either had “one” job or “two or more.”

Concerning future plans, 89.5% said they wanted to have some kind of part-time job, showing that even those who were not working at the time of the survey intended to find a job. Only 2.1% of respondents did not wish to take on such positions, showing that there had been a rise since the last survey in 2019 in foreign students wanting to work part-time.

The 699 international students who indicated they had part-time jobs were asked why they had started work, with multiple responses possible. The most common reason for 51.6% was “to cover living expenses,” followed by 45.6% who were “interested in working in Japan,” and 39.8% who wanted “to study Japanese.”

Positions that involved customer service were popular. At 19.0%, the most sought-after job was “hotel or accommodation worker.” A further 17.9% wanted to be a “restaurant server” and 17.7% a “convenience store worker.”

The survey was conducted by Recruit from mid- to late January 2023. A breakdown of the respondents showed that 27.1% were from China, 11.9% from the United States, 9.3% from Vietnam, 8.8% from South Korea, and 8.7% from Taiwan.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo © Pixta.)