Is a lowball salary then a part-time offer standard Japanese employment negotiations?

Question

I have recently been interviewing for a remote position with a company based out of Tokyo, Japan. They are a fairly young start up, with one semi successful product currently out. They seem to be incredibly interested in hiring me. However, there seems to either be some cultural miscommunications or maybe just misunderstandings that I need help with.

They first offered a full time (remote) position to me, but it was substantially below what I could accept. I made this clear (politely) and had to decline. They said that was fine, and if their monetary situation changed they would let me know.

They came back several days later with the right amount of money (nearly double the original amount) but the offer specified it was only for a two month contract. I asked for clarification, and also said this was not long enough for me to consider leaving my stable job for.

This evening, I got another message asking if I would be interested in a part-time position, in conjunction with my full-time engineering job I already have. I have now told them that this won’t work, I need to have both good pay and a stable position to help their company reach its goals and for me to have a sane life. I recommended we have a meeting to better discuss what it is we are both looking for and need.

Is any of this normal? Do Japanese negotiations just look very different than other Western methods?

TL;DR: I’ve been very clear with this company about what I need in a job, but they seem to not be understanding or are dodging things. Am I missing something?

Details: I am an Electrical and Software Engineer located in the United States with a stable job and decent pay. I like this new company, and would be excited to work for them.

Update: I was straightforward with the company and asked them what was the primary motivator behind their negotiations. They replied that their long term funds are unpredictable/limited, and they are trying to push out this big product in the next couple of months (hence the two month contract). After that they will be reassessing their full-time needs and may contact me. Thanks for all the feedback!

Answer 1

No, it is not a standard practice in Japan.

I think they are just a startup that can't afford to hire you on full-time at the price you are asking, so they are looking for alternatives.

As for the short-term contract, they may have specific tasks in mind they would like you to handle, that they can't handle with their current resources.

The part time offer was also probably geared to you taking over those specific tasks, with you keeping your day job so that your pay is at an acceptable level.

If you don't think you can work without a long-term full-time contract above a certain salary, then say that to them one more time, and if they can't make that offer, it may just be best to part ways.

Answer 2

That is all about being a startup, possibly not related to Japan at all.

From the offers, it's pretty clear that they are short on cash for what they are planing to do. Probably an initial funding is running out. So it's not that they do not want to give you a normal full time contract, it's that it increases their risk significantly.

The risk is to run out of money. That may result in a bankruptcy, or in being bought (for little money) by some similar company. Both cases are not a good forecast for a stable job. In the second case chances are that the other company already has someone in your role. An additional red flag is that the current product is "semi successful", as that is probably an euphemism for not successful at all. That would explain being short on money. (My intuition is that they are dying, but still have hope.)

The conclusion is that you can not assume a stable long term job when working for them, completely independent from the contract you get. Even if they offer perfectly what you want, that does not change.

Answer 3

(The following is based on my limited personal experience (I am non-Japanese working in Japan for several years) and on what I gathered from talking to some Japanese friends, reading the Internet, etc. What I say below is true, but not universally true, and quite likely is not applicable to your situation. Still, it may help you to better understand their mentality... then again, their mentality may not be like that.)

In Japan, you get hired fresh out of school/college/university and for the rest of your career. Your initial pay is low, but you get a regular unconditional raise (e. g. regardless of your performance), so after a decade it becomes reasonable, after two decades it may start getting high and keep growing. If you quit (which you wouldn't, because why would you?!) and get a new job, your initial pay is low, but... (see above). That is the tradition, which is now somewhat dead, but it is lingering in many companies (in the depths of their corporate schizophrenia): a new hire = fresh out of school/college/university, and should be paid accordingly. Yes, they are fully aware that you have this many years of relevant experience and whatnot, and at the same time, they kinda aren't. Regardless of the company's size, financial situation, etc. - I suspect, it is rather related to the attitude of the management (how modernized/westernized vs. traditional/japanized they are).

The limited time contracts is a somewhat new thing, getting more popular as the government pushes for more job security for the hired workers, and the companies push for those contracts which make it easier to get rid of you if need be. That's why they are paid better. Most people still prefer permanent contracts for their permanency. So the limited contracts are better paid, to encourage people to choose them. While the government is pushing towards making them essentially equal to permanent contracts (they made a law recently that your contract must be renewed unless the company can provide compelling reasons for being unable to extend it; they made another law that after ~5 years of working for the same company on such contracts you have a right to demand a permanent contract, etc.)

Answer 4

There are several kind of employment contracts in Japan. It sounds like the tried to switch you from Seishain (permanent employee) to fixed term contract.

This is actually quite common and doesn't mean the company don't want to keep you in the long run. This kind of contract usually comes with a higher pay due to the lower benefits.

However, others concern raised are very valid, and it doesn't mean that you should accept it: Only accept what you are confortable with.

Answer 5

I partially agree to above answers, but I also think it is possibly some sort of probation period contract, so I wrote down my experience FYI in case you really like this job and need careful considerations.

I've worked for a Japanese MNC company before. What they did was providing me a 3-month contract initially, but also clearly stated inside contract that if my performance met their expectation, the contract would be updated into permanent within the probation period. And they actually updated it before the end of my second month.

Even if a candidate is strong, it is still possible that he cannot collaborate with team well. Most Japanese companies are very careful about this, and want to protect the existing loyal employees. Thus maybe they like you, but they are still not willing to take the risk by paying you much more than current ones.

What I suggest is that you carefully check the strength of this company, to make sure whether it is they "are not sure to hire you as permanent" or "cannot hire you as permanent". For a startup, if they cannot guarantee their own survival, how to promise yours?