Agriculture Jobs in Japan

Japanese farms have suffered from a labour shortage for a long time. Recently, the Labour, Justice and Agriculture Ministries revised the national training system, so that workers from overseas can have more duties beyond picking vegetables. They receive on the job training in facilities. If you are interested in jobs in agriculture or have a related degree, why not try a farming job?

Agriculture jobs and salary

There are a variety of agricultural jobs, such as agricultural workers, engineering and natural science managers, farmers, ranchers and farming mangers.

Farm staff work as farmhands, fruits and vegetable pickers, planters, breeders, gardeners and sellers. It is often seasonal work, but skills are taught on the job. Agricultural sales staff promote farm products and equipment like seeds, fertilisers and tools. The hourly rate is 800 yen-1000 yen.

If you have specialised knowledge about engineering, an agriculture engineer could be the one you should try. The duties include quality control, development and test of products and design of agricultural equipment and machinery. The annual salary is 4,500,000 yen-8,500,000 yen.

Apart from that, with a degree in agriculture, there are many more roles; agriculture managers, veterinarians, agricultural and food science technicians, horticulturists, agricultural national resource communications, conservation planners, agronomists, botanists, water quality specialists, and endangered species biologists. Among which, agricultural managers oversee agricultural operations and supervise labourers, and promote products, schedule planting and harvesting. The average salary is 4,000,000 yen.

How to find agriculture jobs in Japan

Many websites introduce agricultural jobs. We recommend looking at specific sites because it makes your job search faster. Alternatively, visiting a nearby Hello Work will be helpful as they provide a face-to-face meeting. Followings are websites that you should try.

Noka no oshigoto navi

Noka no oshigoto website has plenty of information. For a job search, you can filter by a job type, a job location and forms of employment. Photographs and images on the site help to understand what a role is all about. Once you become a member, you will have a chance to be scouted by a recruiter and get extra job information. Also, it has an event calendar showing important event such as a job fair. It is handy.

Agri navi

The Agir navi is the larget agricultural job board in Japan. Over 4,000 corporates and individual farm owners use this site. You can filter through many posts by a job location, a job type, industry type, forms of employment and an accommodation type. The site also provides abundance in useful information, such as how to write CVs, and offer a free counselling session to a member.

Daiichiji Sangyo net

This site introduces a wide range of recruitment in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. Besides the job search functions, it provides a variety of services, such as seminars and events. It also features interview articles in which employees explain their experience and introduces daily routines of primary industries, which helps to deepen your knowledge of a particular job before applying.

Farm Help

Farm Help is a job board that advertises a short term position, including a seasonal job. If you are new to work in agriculture, it could be a good idea to start with a short term contract. You can also read about people's experience on the site.

Hello Work

Each prefecture has multiple Hello Work offices. They welcome foreign job seekers with appropriate work visas. Many offices provide service in English and Chinese, and some offices offer other languages as well.

Nagoya Employment Service Centre for Foreigners is specialised for supporting foreigners. The support including consultation, interview training and review of CVs are free of charge. An extensive database of job offers is available via intranet and over the Internet.

Which prefecture should I go

In Japan, rice paddies take most of the countryside. Non-paddy farmland raises vegetables in spring and summer. So, the workforce is in demand all year round.

Prefectures we recommend is that Hokkaido, Aomori, Iwate, Miyagi, Akita, Yamagata, Fukushima, Ibaragi, Niigata, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui,Yamanashi, Nagano, Shizuoka, Aichi, Mie, Shiga, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Nara, Wakayama, Shimane, Tokushima, Fukuoka, Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, Kagoshima, and Okinawa.

Depending on regions, types of crop are different. Southern regions raise more vegetables, mandarin oranges and sugar beets, rather than rice, for example.

What should I consider before applying

Every job has pros and cons. Working in nature is excellent. However, bear in mind that the weather is not always good and the working hours are different from office work.

Here is the list that you should consider before applying.

-You start early in the morning. Some vegetable farms begin at 2 am. Can you get up early?

-Repetitive work continues. Are you good at doing that?

-You may suffer from backache as it requires to keep working in a half-crouching position. If you are worried, check types of crops the farmland deals with.

-Your shoes and clothing get dirty because your primary work is in the fields. Are you all right working in muddy rice fields?

-Earnings are not stable as the work is subject to the weather.

Finally, when you look at a job advertisement, you should check below carefully.

-Contract period

-Job location and responsibilities

-Working hours, overtime work, break, holidays

-Wages, social insurance, other expenditures

Last remarks

Agricultural jobs are fun and rewarding. You can learn tips for growing your favorite vegetables and fruits throughout working. Some farms offer a part of the harvest to workers for free! Enjoy working!