What Makes the Consulting Industry Appealing? An Overview of the Work and Traits of People Well-Suited for the Field

Do you have a negative image of the consulting industry, thinking it seems like difficult work or that long overtime hours make it tough?

To put it simply, consulting is a demanding profession — but it’s also an attractive career where even young professionals can advance quickly and aim for high salaries. Many well-known executives come from consulting backgrounds, making it an ideal stepping stone for those who aspire to start their own business one day.

This article explains the appeal of the consulting industry, what the work involves, and what kind of people are suited for it. Understanding the traits that make someone a good fit for consulting and how to prepare for job interviews will increase your chances of landing a position. If you’re aiming to enter the consulting industry, use this as a reference.

What Is the Consulting Industry? What Does the Work Involve?

The “consulting industry” refers to an industry that identifies challenges and problems faced by companies, and provides support for improving operational efficiency and profitability.

Consultants leverage their specialized knowledge and skills to provide consulting services across a wide range of fields including strategy, IT, and human resources.

Trends and Market Size of the Consulting Industry

Driven by social changes such as the promotion of remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic and digital transformation (DX), demand for consulting services has diversified. The market size in Japan has been on an upward trend since 2020, growing at a pace that is approaching 3.2 trillion yen by 2030.

Going forward, consulting for policy challenges in central government ministries and agencies is expected to increase, in addition to work with major corporations and small-to-medium enterprises.

※Reference: Consulting Market Size Forecast (~2030) | Consulting Market Size 2025 Edition ~Second Half~

Salaries in the Consulting Industry

Salaries in the consulting industry are generally considered high.

In the 2025 “Average Salary Ranking by Job Category” published by the job transfer site doda, consultants ranked 1st with an average salary of 6.19 million yen. Compared to Japan’s average annual salary of 4.78 million yen reported in the “2024 Private Sector Wage Survey” released by the National Tax Agency, consulting salaries are clearly higher.

Many companies in the consulting industry operate on a performance-based pay system, meaning that earning over 10 million yen is not out of reach depending on your results.

7 Types of Consulting Industry

The consulting industry can be broadly divided into 7 types. The main types are as follows:

• General/Comprehensive
• Strategy
• Think Tank
• IT
• Human Resources
• Domestic Independent
• FAS

Let’s take a closer look at each type.

General/Comprehensive Consulting Firms

General consulting firms offer comprehensive problem-solving solutions across a wide range of fields and industries.

Their main services include business strategy planning, IT system implementation, and human resource development. Because the scope of work is broad, these tend to be large-scale firms, and many have offices not only in Japan but around the world.

Representative Companies

• PwC Consulting
• EY Strategy & Consulting
• KPMG Consulting
• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (formerly Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Consulting)

The above are comprehensive consulting firms with roots in the four major accounting firms, commonly known as the Big Four.

Strategy Consulting Firms

Strategy consulting firms provide consulting aimed at solving challenges faced by a company’s senior management. Their role is to improve corporate profitability through upstream-phase improvements such as management policy, business strategy development, and M&A (mergers and acquisitions).

Many clients are global corporations, and consultants are expected to answer not only to business strategy but also to industry-wide challenges, making the difficulty level of the work considerably high.

Representative Companies

• Bain & Company
• McKinsey & Company
• Boston Consulting Group
• A.T. Kearney

Think Tank Consulting Firms

Think tank consulting firms are backed by parent companies such as banks and other financial institutions, and provide services primarily to government agencies. Their main services include market research, data analysis, and policy recommendations.

One of their defining characteristics is that their main clients are government agencies, meaning the topics they handle often involve “solving social issues.”

Representative Companies

• Nomura Research Institute
• NTT DATA Institute of Management Consulting
• Mitsubishi Research Institute
• Fujitsu Research Institute

While many other types of consulting firms are foreign-owned, think tank firms are mostly Japanese companies.

IT Consulting Firms

IT consulting firms aim to improve operational efficiency through IT adoption such as digital transformation (DX). By introducing IT solutions to industries facing labor shortages or established companies lagging in digitalization, they help reduce workloads and improve profitability.

Representative Companies

• Uru Systems
• Gartner Japan
• Future Architect
• TIS

While many are smaller organizations, demand for IT consultants is high due to rapid technological advancement, and the revenues of IT consulting firms have been growing year by year.

HR (Human Resources) Consulting Firms

HR consulting firms specialize in solving problems within human resources departments. Their main services include building HR systems, talent development, and recruitment — essentially consulting on everything related to “people.”

In recent years, demand for HR consulting has grown as companies shift away from seniority-based HR evaluation systems toward performance-based ones. Many HR consulting firms are foreign-owned, making them well-suited for reviewing Japan’s unique HR practices.

Representative Companies

• Mercer Japan
• Towers Watson
• Link and Motivation
• Genex Partners

People can be considered a company’s most valuable asset. Demand for HR consulting firms, which work to maximize that value, is expected to accelerate even further going forward.

Domestic Independent Consulting Firms

Domestic independent consulting firms are Japanese in origin, not affiliated with any particular corporate group, and provide a wide range of consulting services. Their clients are largely small-to-medium enterprises, and they specialize in hands-on, ground-level problem-solving such as process improvement, cost reduction, and operational efficiency.

Consultants often work alongside employees to identify and improve issues through discussion, and many engagements are structured with the consultant taking on a trainer or facilitator role.

Representative Companies

• Tanabe Consulting Group
• LiB Consulting
• Ignition Point
• Funai Sogo Research Institute

Unlike foreign firms, which tend to be performance-based, domestic independent firms have a stronger seniority-based culture, and salaries tend to be comparatively lower.

FAS Consulting Firms

FAS stands for “Financial Advisory Services.” These firms specialize in financial consulting and M&A (business divestitures). In particular, M&A has seen growing demand in recent years as business succession issues threaten the continued existence of many companies.

FAS firms also have business revitalization divisions, and another distinguishing feature is that they employ many professionals with experience in corporate turnarounds.

Representative Companies

• Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (formerly Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Financial Advisory)
• EY Strategy & Consulting
• PwC Advisory
• KPMG FAS

The Big Four global accounting firms are the most prominent representatives, and their deep bench of accounting-qualified professionals gives them particular strength in business revitalization.

What Are the Differences Between Foreign and Japanese Consulting Firms?

The main differences between foreign and Japanese consulting firms are as follows:

• Corporate culture
• How engagements are structured (contract style)
• Required skills and abilities

Understanding these three points is important for finding the firm that best suits you. Read on for a detailed breakdown.

Corporate Culture

The differences in corporate culture between foreign and Japanese firms are as follows:

Foreign Firms	Japanese Firms
Performance-based	Seniority-based
Individualistic	Teamwork-oriented
More overtime	Less overtime

Foreign firms are strictly performance-based — for better or worse — so be aware that employees who fail to deliver results may be asked to leave.

Individualism is the norm, and employees are expected to take initiative. While the performance-driven culture historically led to long working hours, work-style reforms are gradually shifting firms toward a better work-life balance.

Japanese firms, on the other hand, still carry a strong seniority culture, where years of experience and age tend to be valued over ability and results. An emphasis on teamwork is also a distinctly Japanese cultural trait. While overtime hours are fewer than at foreign firms, they remain higher than in other industries.

That said, overtime hours have been decreasing year by year, and working conditions are gradually improving.

How Engagements Are Structured (Contract Style)

There are also differences in how engagements are structured between foreign and Japanese firms.

How foreign firms handle engagements:

1. A partner-level executive wins the engagement
2. A small team of consultants works together to complete the project

It’s rare for one person to handle a project solo or juggle multiple projects at once. While the corporate culture is individualistic, the actual work is characterized by a team-based approach.

How Japanese firms handle engagements:

1. Sales efforts are made to bring in clients
2. Consultants typically handle their own clients independently

It is common to manage multiple clients simultaneously while working independently. Despite a teamwork-oriented culture, the actual work tends to be completed on an individual basis.

While the consulting style differs between foreign and Japanese firms, the ultimate goal remains the same for both.

Required Skills and Abilities

There are no major differences in the skills and abilities required at foreign versus Japanese firms, but foreign firms often demand a higher level of English proficiency. This is because some firms use English as the official internal language, and many of their clients are internationally operating foreign companies.

The English level typically required at foreign firms is around a TOEIC score of 800. While a TOEIC score alone cannot fully measure English ability, competition at foreign firms is fierce, making continuous improvement of English skills essential.

5 Appealing Aspects of Working in the Consulting Industry

Here are 5 reasons why working in the consulting industry is so appealing.

1. You can be involved in management-level work
2. You can pursue skill and career advancement
3. You get to meet people from a wide range of industries
4. You can earn a high salary
5. You can work in a global environment

If you’re aiming for a career in consulting, read on.

1. You Can Be Involved in Management-Level Work

At a typical company, it takes many years before you get to work on management-level tasks. But as a consultant, you can be involved in management-related work within just a few years.

Working with a variety of companies — large corporations, SMEs, foreign firms — gives you broad knowledge and experience as well as a great sense of accomplishment. Getting involved in management at a young age provides valuable experience that many go on to leverage when starting their own business or moving into an executive role.

Some notable entrepreneurs who started their careers in consulting include:

• Yasuyuki Higuchi (Representative Executive Officer & President, Microsoft Japan) — formerly of BCG (Boston Consulting Group)
• Tomoko Nanba (Board Director, DeNA Co., Ltd.) — formerly of McKinsey & Company
• Yuji Kusunoki (Rakuten Securities, Inc.) — formerly of A.T. Kearney
• Yuji Nishiura (Vice Chairman, AlixPartners) — formerly of Roland Berger

Whether you build a career as a management consultant or transition into a corporate leadership role, this is an industry full of possibilities.

2. You Can Pursue Skill and Career Advancement

The consulting industry offers ample opportunities for skill and career development.

Working alongside talented colleagues both inside and outside your firm gives you frequent opportunities to grow. Devising solutions to complex corporate challenges on your own is itself a powerful form of skill-building. Additionally, many firms operate on a performance-based model, so it’s entirely possible for young professionals to rise to senior positions based on merit.

At the same time, the skills and experience gained as a consultant are highly valued across industries, making career transitions relatively straightforward. Many consultants have successfully moved into roles at trading companies, investment banks, and startups, among others.

3. You Get to Meet People from a Wide Range of Industries

Most of the clients you’ll work with in the consulting industry are senior executives and business leaders.

Because consultants manage multiple engagements at a time, they get to meet people from all kinds of industries. Engaging with such a diverse range of professionals broadens your perspective and allows you to gain experiences that simply aren’t available elsewhere — and that itself is one of the industry’s great attractions.

4. You Can Earn a High Salary

Salaries in the consulting industry rank among the highest when compared across job categories. According to the 2024 “Average Salary Ranking by Job Category” published by job transfer site doda, the average annual salary for consultants was 6.11 million yen.

Job Category	Average Annual Salary
	Overall	Male	Female
Specialist (Consulting Firm / Professional Office / Audit Firm)	¥6.11M	¥6.54M	¥5.35M
Planning / Administration	¥5.66M	¥6.43M	¥4.72M
Financial Specialist	¥4.74M	¥6.40M	¥4.00M
Sales	¥4.69M	¥5.01M	¥4.03M
Engineering (Electrical / Electronic / Mechanical)	¥4.68M	¥4.81M	¥3.73M
Engineering (IT / Telecommunications)	¥4.62M	¥4.85M	¥4.07M
Engineering (Architecture / Civil Engineering)	¥4.43M	¥4.61M	¥3.74M
Engineering (Medical / Chemical / Food)	¥4.07M	¥4.54M	¥3.71M
Creative	¥3.92M	¥4.35M	¥3.62M
Administrative / Assistant	¥3.50M	¥4.13M	¥3.35M
Retail / Service	¥3.39M	¥3.73M	¥3.10M

Given the performance-based pay structure of the consulting industry, earning 10 million yen in your 20s is entirely possible. Many firms also have incentive (commission-based) pay systems in place, making even higher salaries attainable.

Average salaries at major Japanese consulting firms are as follows:

Company Name	Average Annual Salary
Frontier Management Inc.	¥12.09M
Nomura Research Institute, Ltd.	¥13.21M
Sigmaxyz Holdings Inc.	¥12.07M
BayCurrent Consulting, Inc.	¥13.49M
Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc.	¥10.80M

Average salaries at major foreign consulting firms are as follows:

Company Name	Average Annual Salary
Boston Consulting Group (BCG)	¥15.50M
A.T. Kearney	¥13.71M
Roland Berger	¥12.89M
McKinsey & Company Japan	¥13.66M
KPMG FAS	¥12.32M

While Japanese firms’ salaries fall short of their foreign counterparts, every company listed exceeds 10 million yen.

5. You Can Work in a Global Environment

When assigned to overseas projects, you can work in a truly global environment — including overseas assignments and postings abroad. Working toward shared goals with people from different countries while navigating cross-cultural communication is an invaluable experience.

In particular, consultants who specialize in overseas expansion support can expect to work in an even more international environment.

Consulting firms with extensive overseas expansion experience:

• Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
• InfoCubic Japan Co., Ltd.
• Persol Career Co., Ltd.
• Tradinate Co., Ltd.

Many of these firms have deep expertise in local business environments and economic conditions, making them reliable partners for working abroad.

Consulting Roles and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities at each consulting level are as follows:

Title	Role / Responsibilities
Partner	The highest position in a consulting firm
Director / Principal	Equivalent to Partner; responsible for project execution
Senior Manager	Project leadership, budget management, client relationship management, and sales accountability
Manager	Project leadership and budget management
Senior Consultant	Project management and hands-on work such as system development
Consultant	Team lead for analysts; information gathering and analysis
Analyst	Hands-on contributor; research and document creation

Let’s look at the details of each role.

Partner

A Partner is a co-owner of the consulting firm and represents the pinnacle of the career path. Internally, Partners are responsible for strategic decisions; externally, they propose solutions to clients. Both dimensions are central to the role.

It’s no exaggeration to say that the success or failure of a client engagement hinges largely on the Partner’s capabilities. As responsibility grows at the Partner level, so does compensation — it’s not unusual for Partners to earn over 30 million yen.

Director / Principal

Like the Partner, the Director or Principal is a co-owner of the firm and the person responsible for negotiating with clients. Depending on the consulting firm, this title may be treated as equivalent to Partner or as one level below.

Key responsibilities include winning new projects and making management-related decisions, placing this role among the most critical in the firm. The scope of responsibility is broad, spanning brand management, business policy, and HR decisions.

Senior Manager

The Senior Manager is a senior version of the Manager role. Responsibilities include project leadership, budget management, and client relationship management. It’s a demanding role that requires managing the progress of multiple simultaneous projects, overseeing team members, and liaising with executives.

Another key responsibility is developing junior staff. Upskilling each team member is essential to raising the overall performance of the team — though talent development is notoriously difficult, requiring careful attention to limited time and generational differences in mindset.

Manager

The Manager is responsible for overseeing project progress and budget management.

Equivalent to a middle manager (section chief level) in a typical company, this role requires both managing your own team and navigating relationships with senior leadership — a challenging position. Salaries typically rise significantly around the Manager level, with 10 million yen serving as a common benchmark.

Managers are also sometimes called upon to act as team leader, coordinating and directing consultants and analysts.

Senior Consultant

After achieving strong results, a Consultant is promoted to the more senior title of Senior Consultant. As team leader on a given project, the Senior Consultant conducts client interviews to identify challenges and takes ownership of problem-solving as the primary practitioner.

In practice, the actual work is largely the same as a Consultant — developing and recommending strategies to address clients’ management challenges — but the title changes with seniority, so it’s worth keeping in mind.

Consultant

Consultants handle the bulk of the project’s hands-on work. This involves extracting challenges from clients, forming hypotheses, and leading the proposal and execution of strategies.

Directing analysts and handling some management responsibilities may also be delegated to junior consultants earlier in their careers.

Analyst

The Analyst’s role is to analyze data gathered by consultants and create supporting materials.

Analyst is the entry-level position when joining a consulting firm. By carrying out analyst responsibilities, professionals build strong objective data analysis skills and the ability to make accurate forecasts.

Becoming a Consultant requires several years of experience and continuous development of your abilities.

The Consulting Project Process

The typical flow of a consulting project is as follows:

1. Presentation
2. Engagement Win
3. Kickoff Meeting
4. Interviews & Hypothesis Development
5. Determining the Solution
6. Proposal & Implementation Support

Let’s look at each stage in detail.

1. Presentation

The consulting firm listens to the client’s issues and challenges, prepares a project proposal, and presents it to the client. For new engagements, it’s common to compete against multiple other consulting firms in a competitive pitch.

Typical presentation content:

• Firm introduction
• Overview of the client’s issues or challenges
• Proposed solution and action plan
• Expected outcomes after problem resolution
• Case studies of similar situations
• Project schedule through completion
• Contract details including consulting fees

Since failing to win the presentation means losing the project, this is a critical stage.

2. Engagement Win

Once the proposal is accepted, the project is formally contracted. The consulting firm selects the most suitable team members for the project and confirms availability. The client is also asked to designate their project team members and confirm scheduling on their end.

3. Kickoff Meeting

All project stakeholders from both the client and consulting sides come together for a kickoff meeting. The purpose is to provide a high-level overview of the project, confirm the schedule, and align on key details.

Purposes of the kickoff meeting:

• Introductions among all parties
• Alignment on project overview (confirming objectives and goals)
• Consensus building (confirming there are no objections)
• Schedule confirmation
• Building motivation and momentum

The kickoff meeting is the first step toward a successful project. If you join the consulting industry, make sure you attend with a clear understanding of the purpose and significance of the project you’re about to undertake.

4. Interviews & Hypothesis Development

To work toward resolving the identified issues, the consulting team interviews relevant stakeholders on the client side and conducts a current-state assessment, analysis, and data collection. Based on the findings, hypotheses for solving the problem are developed, and the team iterates with the client through validation and discussion to sharpen those hypotheses.

Care must be taken here — forming hypotheses incorrectly can waste time and resources and become a root cause of project failure.

5. Determining the Solution

Once root cause analysis is complete, the team uses the collected data and information to determine specific solutions (a concrete action plan). It’s important to present as many potential solutions as possible, then repeatedly evaluate and narrow them down with the team to arrive at the best course of action.

Key considerations when evaluating and narrowing solutions:

• Does it directly address the problem?
• Can the necessary resources be secured?
• Cost-effectiveness
• Is it a company-wide initiative?

These evaluation criteria are a critical step in making the most effective use of limited human resources and assets.

6. Proposal & Implementation Support

In the final stage of a consulting project, the conclusions are presented to the client’s senior management and the project is formally concluded. Depending on the client, there may also be a request for ongoing implementation support, in which case the consulting team continues to assist with effectiveness measurement and change management until the solution is fully embedded.

Responding to client needs across the full spectrum — from initial proposal through to execution — is the complete flow of a consulting project.

Traits of People Who Are Well-Suited for Consulting

The characteristics of people who are well-suited for a consulting career are as follows:

• People who enjoy interacting with others
• People with strong logical thinking skills
• People with strong communication skills

If these traits describe you, consulting could be a great fit.

People Who Enjoy Interacting with Others

Those who genuinely enjoy connecting with people tend to thrive in consulting. This is because the role requires drawing out a client’s concerns, empathizing with them, and guiding the process toward a solution.

Understanding client needs enables you to build strong, trusting partnerships — which in turn increases the likelihood of long-term engagements. Someone who finds interpersonal interaction draining would likely struggle in a role that is so fundamentally people-focused.

People with Strong Logical Thinking Skills

Solving problems and challenges requires logical thinking. Without the ability to organize cause-and-effect relationships systematically and construct a clear path toward resolution, it becomes difficult to arrive at accurate answers.

Traits of someone with strong logical thinking skills:

• Grounds their reasoning clearly (persuasive)
• Communicates in an easy-to-follow way (able to consider the listener’s perspective)
• Can distinguish between facts (objective) and opinions (subjective)
• Consistently composed (good at managing emotions)

Those who can stay calm and view situations from a broad perspective tend to demonstrate strong logical thinking.

People with Strong Communication Skills

Strong communicators are well-suited for consulting, because consulting is fundamentally a communication-driven profession.

Listening to clients, identifying problems, and arriving at solutions — all of these depend heavily on communication skills. It’s also worth noting that communication ability is closely intertwined with logical thinking; without logical coherence, communication devolves into mere self-expression.

Traits of someone with strong communication skills:

• Listens attentively (listens deeply and actively)
• Speaks in a structured way (strong logical thinking)
• Does not waste others’ time (low communication overhead)
• Does not change their attitude based on who they’re speaking with (embraces diversity)
• Uses facial expressions and gestures effectively (approachable and engaging)

If you’re working in the consulting industry, keep these traits in mind as you interact with clients.

For Those New to the Field: How to Prepare for the Consulting Selection Process

Let’s look at what to keep in mind when working toward a career in consulting.

• Internship preparation
• Entry sheet (ES) preparation
• Web test / written exam preparation
• Group discussion (GD) preparation
• Interview preparation

Knowing how to prepare for each stage of the selection process opens the door to a job offer.

Internship Preparation

At many consulting firms, completing an internship is a prerequisite for being considered for a full-time offer, making internship preparation critically important.

How to prepare for internships:

• Company research

To understand the firm’s business model and the nature of the work in advance, regularly check news releases and updates on the firm’s website.

• Review business etiquette

Confirm basic dress code and what to bring on the day, well in advance.

Firms run internships in order to more reliably identify and hire the talent they’re looking for. Always be mindful that you are being observed throughout the internship.

Entry Sheet (ES) Preparation

Consulting firm recruiters review a large number of entry sheets, so it’s important to write something that is easy to read and stands out. This is because the ES is the first stage of selection for most firms.

Here are some specific ways to strengthen your ES:

ES tips:

• Clearly state what you want to do once you join the firm
• Highlight your strengths (differentiate yourself from other applicants)
• Describe past accomplishments with specific detail

Make sure to showcase the knowledge and experience that will remain valuable after joining the firm, so your ES isn’t screened out early.

Web Test / Written Exam Preparation

Both web tests and written exams are commonly used in consulting firm selection processes. However, since passing score thresholds are not publicly disclosed, preparation needs to be tailored to each firm.

＜Test formats used by well-known consulting firms＞

Company Name	Test Format
Boston Consulting Group	SPI, proprietary game-based test
A.T. Kearney	Versant, reasoning-based exam
Accenture	Tamatebako (玉手箱)
McKinsey & Company Japan	Online game-based test
Bain & Company	GAB
KPMG	SPI
Nomura Research Institute	SPI
Funai Sogo Research Institute	Tamatebako (玉手箱)
BayCurrent Consulting	Tamatebako (玉手箱)
Mitsubishi Research Institute	SPI

Since there are multiple formats, be sure to confirm the test format used by the firm you’re applying to in advance.

Group Discussion (GD) Preparation

For group discussion preparation, the key is to understand the general flow and know what recruiters are looking for.

General flow of a group discussion:

1. A topic is assigned
2. Roles are assigned
3. Discussion takes place
4. A conclusion is reached
5. The conclusion is presented

The flow is similar across firms, with groups typically having around 30 to 60 minutes to arrive at a conclusion. While specific evaluation criteria are not published, recruiters generally look for the following:

What recruiters look for:

• Are you thinking logically?
• Are you making practical, realistic judgments?
• Are you actively participating in the discussion?
• Are you being mindful of teamwork?

While criteria vary by recruiter, simply being aware of these points going in significantly improves your chances of passing the group discussion stage.

Interview Preparation

Knowing in advance the questions interviewers frequently ask and what they’re evaluating puts you in a much stronger position for the final hiring stage.

Common interview questions:

• Self-introduction
• Activities during your student years (academic research, club achievements, etc.)
• Why you want to become a consultant
• Why you applied to this firm specifically
• Your strengths and weaknesses
• Where you see yourself in the future

Preparing answers to the questions above in advance allows you to proceed through the interview smoothly and without anxiety.

According to research by job transfer site doda, “first impression” consistently ranks #1 as the first thing interviewers notice, regardless of job type. This is because a candidate’s background and qualifications have already been reviewed through earlier stages of the selection process.

Interviewers also pay attention to whether answers are concise. Try to lead with your conclusion and summarize your key points as succinctly as possible. There’s no need to speak at length — especially when the goal is to make an impact in a limited amount of time.

At the end of the interview, you will likely be asked if you have any questions — always have one prepared. Choose a question that conveys your genuine interest in joining the firm. Avoid questions about salary, overtime, or other compensation-related topics.

Conclusion

The consulting industry offers the opportunity to work across a wide range of domains including strategy, IT, and human resources. While the demands are high, the rewards are equally significant.

Looking at average salaries, both foreign and Japanese firms exceed 10 million yen. With performance-based pay widely adopted across the industry, ability is rewarded regardless of age — making it an industry where anyone has a chance to succeed.