I had an early-stage 1-on-1 interview that was conducted in Japanese, and it caught me off guard slightly—but it actually went smoothly. The conversation started in a casual, easy way that helped me settle in, and the interviewer was kind and understanding even with my Japanese level.
It felt like they were prioritizing comfort and communication tone as much as the content. I didn’t move forward to an offer, but I left that conversation feeling less stressed than I expected for a language-based interview.
> 1 year
Average Positive Tokyo
I applied online and the whole process took about two months. When I interviewed for SAP (Tokyo), the initial 1-on-1 round was conducted in Japanese, and it went smoothly even though my Japanese level was only around the N2 range. The interviewer was genuinely kind and understanding, and the conversation started casually to ease the pressure.
Even with the language constraint, I felt comfortable enough to stay engaged and explain my background clearly. By the time the process ended, I didn’t receive an offer, but the interview itself felt low-friction and respectful—more like a friendly conversation that happened to be part of the hiring loop.
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