For Employers

Hiring Japanese-English bilingual talent for your US operation

We recruit for US operations of Japanese and Japan-connected companies — people who can do the job in English and work in Japanese with your parent company. Contingency only: you pay when you hire, and candidates are never charged.

Tell us about the role

No upfront cost. No obligation. A description of the work is enough to start.

Who we find

We recruit people by what they can do at work, not by where they are from. The pool we reach is wider than the phrase “Japanese bilingual” usually suggests, and it includes:

  • Japanese-English bilingual professionals already living and working in the US, who use both languages daily.
  • Japanese-speaking professionals whose first language is not Japanese — people who studied in Japan, worked there, or reached working proficiency another way.
  • People with experience inside Japanese companies, in Japan or in the US, who already know how decisions get made between a US entity and its parent.
  • People who understand both business environments — US-side expectations on speed and documentation, Japan-side expectations on consultation and detail.

We describe and assess people by capability — language ability, relevant experience, and the work itself. We do not screen by nationality or ethnicity, we do not describe candidates that way, and we cannot accept a search framed as a nationality requirement. That is both our position and, in the United States, the law.

Why a general recruiter usually struggles with these roles

Most of these positions are not language jobs. They are accounting, supply chain, sales, engineering or HR jobs in which language is the constraint that makes the shortlist small. Someone holds a technical conversation in English with a US customer in the morning, and a detailed one in Japanese with the parent company in the afternoon.

Two things follow, and the table below is the same two points set out side by side.

What the role needsWhere a single-language search runs shortHow we run it
The work itselfIt is an accounting, supply chain, sales, engineering or HR role. Language is the constraint that makes the shortlist small, not the job.Recruited as the function it is, with the language requirement treated as part of that function.
Reaching candidatesThe strongest candidates are not all reachable through English-language channels.Sourcing runs in both languages, across both channel sets.
Establishing language abilityA résumé line stating business level Japanese tells you very little on its own, and a mis-assessment costs a hiring cycle.Established in an interview conducted in both languages, about the work itself.

What we do

Bilingual recruiting

Permanent placement for roles where Japanese and English are both used at work. We source in both languages, and screening includes a bilingual interview before you see anyone.

Japan desk roles

Positions that sit between the US entity and the parent company — coordination, reporting, and the internal translation work that is rarely written into a job description but is always in the job.

Contingency only

No retainer and no upfront fee. Nothing is payable until someone you hire starts. Candidates pay nothing at any stage.

Have a role in mind?

Send us the details

How an engagement runs

StageYour sideOur side
1. The roleDescribe the work, which parts happen in which language, and what the team looks like. A rough description is enough.We listen, and often help define the role. This conversation is free and carries no obligation.
2. Sourcing and screeningNothing is required from you at this stage.We source in both languages across both channel sets. You see candidates only after a bilingual interview.
3. InterviewsYou interview the candidates we introduce.We coordinate scheduling across time zones, and across languages where the parent company is involved.
4. Offer and startYou make the offer.Our fee becomes payable when the person you hire starts. Not before.

Where we work

We recruit for the US operations of Japanese and Japan-connected companies across the country, not for one state. Our contingency model charges fees to employers only, which is the arrangement California’s Civil Code addresses directly at section 1812.502(a).

We receive inquiries from Japanese-affiliated employers in states including California, Texas, Georgia, Ohio and Washington. Requirements differ by state and several are still being confirmed with counsel, so the honest position is this: tell us about the role, and we will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do in that state before anything else happens.

Questions employers ask before getting in touch

What does it cost, and when do we pay?

Nothing until someone you hire starts. Our fee is contingent on a placement starting, and the percentage is agreed in writing before we begin a search. There is no retainer and no upfront cost. Candidates are never charged.

Do you only place Japanese nationals?

No. We place people who can do the work in both languages, whatever their nationality. That includes people who learned Japanese through study or work in Japan rather than as a first language. Nationality is not a criterion we screen on, and a role cannot be posted with a nationality requirement.

How do you assess Japanese ability?

By interviewing in Japanese about the work itself, not by taking a certificate at face value. What matters is whether someone can hold the conversations your role actually requires — a supplier negotiation, a monthly report to the parent company, a technical explanation — and that is what we test for.

Can you work with our parent company in Japan?

Yes. United World US is part of United World Inc., which is based in Tokyo. The process can run in Japanese with the parent company and in English with the US entity at the same time, which removes a coordination step your team would otherwise carry.

What kinds of roles do you fill?

Corporate and operational functions at US operations of Japanese and Japan-connected companies — accounting and finance, supply chain and logistics, sales and business development, engineering and technical support, human resources, and Japan desk coordination roles.

We have never used a recruiter before. Where do we start?

With a description of the work, even a rough one. Most first conversations are as much about defining the role as filling it, particularly where the language requirement has not been pinned down yet. There is no cost to that conversation and no commitment attached to it. What is genuinely enough to start:

  • What the work involves, even roughly
  • Which parts happen in Japanese and which in English
  • Who the person would work with, in the US and in Japan
  • Whether the parent company takes part in hiring decisions

Related reading

Tell us about the role

A description of the work is enough to start. No upfront cost, no obligation, and we will tell you plainly if we are not the right fit.

Start the conversation

United World US · United World Inc. · Tokyo

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