Community & Careers
The fastest way to grow is to work with other people. Contribute to a real open-source project, network with developers already in the industry, then find your first role — the resources below are especially useful for engineers building a career in Japan.
Projects to contribute to
Real GitHub / open-source projects where you can work on a team, ship code that ships, and build a portfolio that actually counts.
Find a Doc Japan
An open-source, NPO-run directory helping people in Japan find healthcare providers who can support them in their language. A welcoming, well-organized codebase (TypeScript/Vue/GraphQL) that has helped 225+ engineers learn by contributing — several landed jobs through it. The best place to get real team experience as a career-changer.
- TypeScript
- Vue
- GraphQL
- NPO
- good first issue
Open Paw
Nekko Labs’ local-first AI coding & cowork desktop app, with first-class support for local models (Ollama, LM Studio, vLLM). A modern TypeScript codebase and a great place to contribute alongside our team — say hi in the Discord.
- TypeScript
- Desktop
- Local-first
- AI
Nekko MCP
A local-first runtime and manager for MCP servers — run them securely (process or Docker), supervise them, and expose one gateway for any agent harness. TypeScript, developed fully in the open.
- TypeScript
- MCP
- Local-first
Nekko Journal
A calm, anti-streak monthly journaling and goal-tracking app — local-first. Set yearly goals, break them into months, and capture highlights, struggles, and photos. A friendly TypeScript project to get started on.
- TypeScript
- Local-first
- Product
Nekko Dojo Skills
The Agent Skills hub behind this site — official and community Claude skills, installable as a Claude Code plugin marketplace. A low-barrier way to make your first open-source contribution by adding a skill, not just code.
- Claude skills
- Open Source
- Beginner
Misskey
A popular Japan-origin, decentralized social platform built with TypeScript/Vue. A large, active OSS project with issues across the difficulty spectrum — good for stretching beyond beginner work once you have your footing.
- TypeScript
- Vue
- Large project
Good First Issue
An aggregator of beginner-friendly issues across popular open-source projects worldwide. A solid way to find your very first contribution if nothing above fits yet.
- Good first issue
- Aggregator
Networking
Communities where you can ask questions, hear about openings before they hit the boards, and meet people already working in tech here.
Nekko Labs Discord
Our community for people switching into tech. Get unstuck, find your first real issue, and meet other career-changers and working engineers. Bring your questions.
TokyoDev
A busy Discord of 8,000+ international software developers in Japan. Job leads, salary talk, meetups, and honest advice on building a career here. One of the best rooms to be in.
Japan Dev
Japan Dev runs its community on Reddit (r/JapanDev) rather than Discord — a good place to follow developer-friendly companies, ask questions, and read others’ experiences breaking into tech in Japan.
Where to search for a job
Foreigner-friendly job boards first, then companies that run English-friendly teams and tend to hire junior and early-career engineers.
Job boards
TokyoDev
Curated software jobs in Japan for English speakers, many with visa sponsorship. The go-to board for international developers here.
Japan Dev
A curated board of developer-friendly companies in Japan, with guides on what teams actually look for.
Indeed Japan
The largest job site in Japan by volume. Filter by English-required or remote roles — huge reach, so search precisely.
GaijinPot Jobs
Japan’s biggest English job board. Every listing is open to foreigners and many offer visa sponsorship.
CareerCross
A bilingual board with strong filters for English-only roles and visa support. Good for IT and engineering positions.
Daijob
A long-running bilingual board connecting foreign talent with global companies in Japan. Most roles expect some Japanese.
Wantedly
Where Japanese startups and tech companies recruit. Much of it is in Japanese, but it’s the best way to discover smaller teams.
Jobs in Japan
An English-friendly board covering tech and non-tech roles across Japan, including entry-level positions.
LinkedIn Jobs
Set your location to Japan and filter for English roles. Great for reaching recruiters at international companies.
Companies that hire juniors
Mercari
Japan’s biggest C2C marketplace. English-friendly engineering org with new-grad and early-career programs.
Rakuten
English is the official in-company language. Large-scale hiring including new grads across many engineering teams.
LY Corporation (LINE / Yahoo)
The company behind LINE and Yahoo! Japan. Broad engineering hiring, including early-career and new-grad tracks.
PayPay
Japan’s leading QR-payments app, built by a highly international team. Actively hires engineers, English OK.
Woven by Toyota
Toyota’s mobility software arm. Diverse, English-first teams and one of the more accessible routes for international engineers.
freee
A leading Japanese SaaS company with international developers and English documentation across engineering.
Money Forward
A fintech SaaS company (personal finance + B2B accounting) with a growing, English-friendly engineering org.
Know a welcoming project, community, or employer we should add? Tell us in the Discord.
Learning is better together
Get unstuck, find your first real issue, and meet others switching into tech. Join the Nekko Labs Discord — bring your questions.
Join the Discord