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TokyoDev Developer Survey 2023

Demographics

Let's get to know the real you.

Japanese Prefecture

What prefecture is your primary residence in?

78.5% of respondents lived in the Greater Tokyo Area (Tokyo, Saitama, Chiba, and Kanagawa), down from 85% last year. While respondents in Tokyo went from 65% to 60.5%, the percentages for other respondents were largely unchanged.

0%
12%
24%
36%
48%
60%
1

Tokyo

367
2

Kanagawa

71
3

Osaka

23
4

Chiba

19
5

Saitama

18
6

Kyoto

16
7

Fukuoka

12
8

Hyogo

12
9

Aichi

10
10

Cutoff Answers

59
0%
12%
24%
36%
48%
60%
% of question respondents
607
85%

Reason for Relocation

Under what circumstances did you initially move to Japan?

Just over half of respondents moved to Japan with a job already lined up, be it they were hired from abroad by a Japan based organization or sent to Japan with their existing employer.

Respondents who were sent by their employer to Japan had a median salary that was 70% above the overall median.

Those sent to Japan were also far more likely to be working for the subsidiary of an international company: 45% of such respondents said they did, compared to 19% of respondents overall.

0%
9%
18%
27%
36%
45%
1

Hired from abroad by a Japan-based company

296
2

As a student

157
3

As a dependent/spouse

64
4

Sent to Japan by my existing employer

49
5

On a working holiday

47
6

I was born in Japan

29
7

On a tourist visa

20
8

Other Answers

30
0%
9%
18%
27%
36%
45%
% of question respondents
662
93%

Residency Status

Which residency status do you currently have in Japan?

59% of respondents had a residency status tied to their employer (engineer, highly skilled foreign professional, or investor / business manager).

0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
1

Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services

341
2

Permanent resident

108
3

Spouse/Dependent of a Japanese National or Permanent Resident

101
4

Highly Skilled Foreign Professional

54
5

Japanese citizen

46
6

Student

23
7

Other Answers

29
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
% of question respondents
682
96%

Country or Region

What is your country or region of citizenship?

Despite the survey being conducted in English, the respondents were quite diverse, holding citizenships from 68 countries or regions.

0%
5%
9%
14%
19%
23%
1

United States of America

138
2

France

51
3

United Kingdom

43
4

Japan

35
5

Canada

33
6

India

31
7

Australia

23
8

Indonesia

21
9

Philippines

21
10

Russia

18
11

China

16
12

Brazil

15
13

Germany

15
14

Vietnam

14
15

Thailand

12
16

NPL

11
17

New Zealand

10
18

Cutoff Answers

154
0%
5%
9%
14%
19%
23%
% of question respondents
661
93%

Age

How old are you?

The majority of respondents were in their thirties, and 81.9% were under fourty.

Women respondents tended to be younger than men, with 44.3% of them being under 30, compared to 28.7% of men.

0%
10%
21%
31%
41%
51%
1

<20

4
2

20-29

203
3

30-39

346
4

40-49

102
5

50-59

15
6

>60

5
0%
10%
21%
31%
41%
51%
% of question respondents
675
95%
33.6
32

Gender

Which of the following describe you?

The overwhelming majority of respondents described themselves as a man. While we had respondents who identify as neither a man or a woman, we didn’t get enough responses to further segment their data while maintaining the anonymity of the individuals.

0%
18%
35%
53%
71%
88%
1

Man

617
2

Woman

72
3

Non-binary, genderqueer, or gender non-conforming

6
4

Not Listed

3
0%
18%
35%
53%
71%
88%
% of question respondents
While we know collecting and publishing diversity data can be a sensitive issue, we do think it's important to obtain this data to help measure and improve the survey's efforts in terms of inclusivity and representativeness.
698
98%

Professional Experience

How many years of professional experience do you have in software development?
0%
4%
9%
13%
17%
22%
1

Under 1

64
2

1-3

145
3

4-6

151
4

7-9

88
5

10-12

115
6

13-15

41
7

16-20

21
8

Over 20

66
0%
4%
9%
13%
17%
22%
% of question respondents
691
97%
8.1
6

Years in Japan

How many years have you lived in Japan?
0%
6%
11%
17%
22%
28%
1

Under 1

74
2

1-3

154
3

4-6

192
4

7-9

107
5

10-12

65
6

13-15

38
7

16-20

17
8

Over 20

43
0%
6%
11%
17%
22%
28%
% of question respondents
690
97%
7.2
5

Educational Attainments

Which of the following best describes the highest level of formal education that you’ve completed?

89.4% of respondents had an undergradudate or graduate degree.

0%
11%
23%
34%
45%
57%
1

Secondary school

16
2

Some college/university study without earning a degree

31
3

Short-cycle tertiary education

22
4

Bachelor’s degree

394
5

Master’s degree

202
6

Professional degree

26
7

Other Answers

7
0%
11%
23%
34%
45%
57%
% of question respondents
697
98%

Professional Qualifications

What professional qualifications in computer science (or related fields) do you have?

17.9% of respondents reported they had no professional qualifications related to computer science.

Coding bootcamp grads had the lowest median professional experience at only 1.9 years.

Women respondents were much more likely to have attended a coding bootcamp then men. While 11.6% male of respondents had graduated from a coding bootcamp, 32.4% of female respondents did.

0%
9%
19%
28%
37%
46%
1

Bachelor’s degree

316
2

Master’s degree

148
3

Coding bootcamp

95
4

Professional qualification

62
5

Short-cycle tertiary education

44
6

Doctorate degree

16
7

đźš« None

120
8

Other Answers

22
0%
9%
19%
28%
37%
46%
% of question respondents
682
96%

English Ability

What is your English proficiency?

89% of respondents had a fluent or above English ability. A higher English ability correlated with a higher salary.

0%
10%
21%
31%
41%
52%
1

None

1
2

Basic

11
3

Conversational

65
4

Fluent

259
5

Native / bilingual

362
0%
10%
21%
31%
41%
52%
% of question respondents
698
98%

Japanese Ability

What is your Japanese proficiency?

Only 33% of respondents had a fluent or above Japanese ability. Higher Japanese ability correlated with a longer time living in Japan, with the median stay of those having no Japanese ability being 0.5 years, whereas those who were fluent having 5 years.

0%
8%
16%
23%
31%
39%
1

None

45
2

Basic

150
3

Conversational

272
4

Fluent

192
5

Native / bilingual

39
0%
8%
16%
23%
31%
39%
% of question respondents
698
98%

Source

While the majority of respondents heard about the survey through their peers and developer communities, we also advertised it on Reddit and Facebook.

0%
6%
13%
19%
25%
32%
1

TokyoDev

188
2

Reddit

132
3

Facebook

66
4

LinkedIn

55
5

Twitter/X

35
6

Workplace

18
7

HN Tokyo

11
8

Other Answers

88
0%
6%
13%
19%
25%
32%
% of question respondents
Respondent source is computed based on referrer data, URL tracking data, and self-reported answers.
593
83%