What makes Japan attractive to top Indian IT engineers?

JStories ー As global competition intensifies in fields like AI and big data, securing top-tier IT engineering talent has become a matter of survival for companies around the world. Among the countries drawing attention as talent hubs, India stands out. The Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), which have produced global leaders such as Google CEO Sundar Pichai and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, are internationally acclaimed for cultivating some of the world’s brightest engineers — with some reports suggesting graduates now command average starting salaries exceeding 20 million yen (approx. $130,000).

Japan, facing an acute shortage of advanced engineers, is keen to attract such talent. But between language and cultural barriers — and fierce competition from Western companies offering high salaries — it’s no easy task.

Yet one Japanese company is succeeding not by competing on salary, but by clearly communicating the unique advantages of working in Japan. That company is Tech Japan, an HR tech venture whose mission is to “accelerate digital transformation through diversity and build a more prosperous society.” Its flagship service, Talendy, is a hiring platform specializing in connecting Japanese companies with highly skilled Indian engineers.

According to Deb Kumar Mondal, Tech Japan’s CPO and an IIT graduate himself:  “U.S. companies clearly have the upper hand when it comes to salary. And in terms of culture, many Indian professionals are already thriving in the West, making it easier to fit in. In terms of popularity, the U.S. comes first, followed by the U.K., Dubai, and Singapore. Japan comes in around fifth.” Competing head-on with these countries, he says, is tough for Japan.

Instead, Tech Japan has chosen to highlight one of Japan’s strongest assets: its technological prowess. Indian engineers tend to be highly motivated and driven by a desire to learn and grow. Rather than working in saturated markets like online finance, many are drawn to building foundational and innovative technologies — areas where Japan shines.

“Japan has a competitive edge in deep tech, where cutting-edge technologies are developed. Within Japanese companies lie patented and in-development technologies that have the potential to drive transformative innovation,” says Mondal. “For IIT graduates, the greatest motivation is the opportunity for growth. Japan’s tech environment offers them a place to apply their academic strengths and continue developing.”

Mondal studied mechanical engineering at IIT and initially considered jobs in India, the U.S., and Germany. But after joining an internship at Daikin Industries in Japan, he became fascinated by Japanese companies’ technological capabilities and chose to launch his career here.

“When I was a student at IIT Bombay around 2016, all we knew about Japanese companies was Toyota and Honda,” he recalls. “Daikin visited our campus to introduce their work, and I found it intriguing enough to try a two-month internship in Japan. Once I experienced it, I thought, ‘This is really interesting — I want to see where this can lead, and what a Japan-India collaboration might look like.’ So I joined the company.”

Despite his positive experience, Mondal faced strong opposition from his parents and peers back home, who knew little about Japan. To bridge that knowledge gap, he joined Tech Japan in 2019 to build a platform where Indian students could easily access concrete information about Japanese companies — such as the technologies they’re developing and the roles Indian engineers hold there. He became CPO in 2023 and now leads the business.

“There are two key barriers to stronger Japan-India collaboration,” he explains. “The first is a lack of information. The second is the environment. Indian engineers and Japanese companies both lacked awareness of what the other side had to offer. I’m working to close that gap.”

Tech Japan’s recruitment support service for Indian students has been expanding rapidly. The company is currently partnered with 18 major Indian educational institutions — including nine IITs — and boasts registrations from over 10,000 top-tier engineers, representing one in three students preparing for employment at these schools.

To help prevent mismatches in job expectations or work conditions, students registering on the platform are encouraged to first join internships that allow them to experience a company’s values and work culture firsthand. Among approximately 16,000 IIT students graduating in 2025, a total of 9,473 applied for summer internships at Japanese companies through the platform. 

“After a two-month internship, students get a clearer sense of their future. Companies, too, can evaluate whether a student is a good fit. When both sides see a path for growth, that leads to successful hires” said Mondal.

Beyond internships, Tech Japan provides hands-on support for hiring companies even before the recruitment stage.

“Our sales team first works with companies to clarify their goals — why do they want to hire IIT graduates? Then we break down large projects and identify smaller tasks that are suitable for students. While the interns are working, our support team provides ongoing support to ensure there are no miscommunications.”

So what kind of mismatches are most common between Indian engineers and Japanese companies? Language is often cited, but Mondal points to something deeper: communication protocols.

“In Japan, there are often unspoken implications behind surface-level communication. For example, when someone says, ‘There was a problem,’ what they might really mean is, ‘I want to think through the root cause together — please share information.’ But in India, the tendency is to jump straight to solving the problem — so that same phrase might be interpreted as, ‘Forget the backstory, just fix it now.’ Without someone bridging that gap, the communication breaks down.”

To address this, Tech Japan encourages companies to clearly define project goals, communication styles, and frequency in advance. Sharing the company’s vision, mission, and values with employees is also key. With the right structure in place, even basic translation tools are often sufficient to keep work moving, though the support team can step in with translation when necessary.

Amid changes like the Trump administration's immigration policies and saturation in the AI job market, many top Indian engineers who previously sought jobs in the U.S. or aimed to start companies in India are now turning their attention to Japan, in search of stability and meaningful work. A recent private survey found that over 80% of Indian students expressed interest in working in Japan.

“With fewer hiring opportunities in AI at U.S. companies, more students are considering Japan. But this window may be temporary. It’s unlikely to last five or 10 years,” Mondal warns.

He sees this moment as a unique opportunity for Japan — but cautions that unless the country produces truly compelling startups, it won’t continue to attract IIT talent.

“Government officials and business leaders in Japan seem to think that if the country has appealing soft power — like anime and food — Indian engineers will stay long term. I believe that’s a mistake. Without a passion for the actual work, they won’t be able to fully demonstrate their abilities in the medium to long term.”

Last year, Mondal visited San Francisco to study successful U.S.-India collaborations. What he found was a virtuous cycle: “It all starts with the top 10% of passionate individuals who carve out a path even in a blank slate. Their drive creates an environment where other talented people can follow. Once that flywheel begins to turn, the cycle sustains itself.”

These elite engineers, he explains, care more about having the right environment to pursue technology than about living conditions. “They think, ‘If there’s good food, great. But even if the housing isn’t perfect, as long as I can work on something exciting, that’s enough.’”

The U.S. already offers that cycle. “There, even as an employee, if you perform well you can keep rising — all the way to CEO. Those role models exist,” Mondal says. “We want to re-create that in Japan.”

Even engineers working at small startups can build a future where their tech reaches global markets — not just Japan. If they can see that potential from the start, they’re more likely to stay.

“That’s why the first step is to build the right environment for that top 10%. Japanese startups need to be ready to embrace global talent, to compete on a global stage, and to send the message: ‘With this vision, we won’t lose to anyone.’ If they can do that, they won’t just attract IIT graduates — engineers from around the world will come to Japan.”

Translated by Anita De Michele | JStories

Edited by Mark Goldsmith

Top photo: Anita De Michele | JStories

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