Concerned about whether your aging parent is using the toilet with proper regularity or not?

No need to worry!

A Japanese IoT (Internet of Things) company has the solution. By simply installing an IoT-powered lightbulb, you can track how often your loved one goes to the toilet. The system will notify you if, for instance, your parent has not used it for the entire day.

Soracom, a company recently listed on the stock market and halfway to becoming a unicorn – which is uncommon in Japan – is one of Japan’s rising stars in the IoT market.

But this post is not about PR for Soracom. It is about IoT and its promise in terms of job opportunities.

The international business and political community often argues that Japan has lost the software battle to other developed countries. Luckily, IoT presents a great opportunity to regain lost ground. Indeed, Japan might be behind in terms of world-class software, but definitely not with hardware.

The IoT market has been steadily growing, and Japan becoming a leader in it doesn’t come as a surprise. This is due to its manufacturing strengths, which provide one of the biggest opportunities for IoT to flourish – and this is just a reminder that Japan is one of the top countries when it comes to patents and is the leader in the Economic Complexity Index. Furthermore, IoT is expanding into other sectors such as health.

On the other hand, due to its rapidly aging population and shrinking workforce, Japan represents a land of opportunities. It is definitely one of the best countries for those planning to develop expertise in IoT.

According to estimates, by 2030, Japan is expected to have around 270,000 AI and IoT jobs that may go unfilled.

Below are some specific careers that are directly involved with IoT:

Engineering and Development

IoT Engineer: Designs, develops, and deploys IoT solutions, integrating hardware and software.

IoT Software Developer: Writes firmware and applications for connected devices.

IoT Hardware Engineer: Designs and develops IoT hardware components.

Firmware Engineer: Develops and optimizes low-level software for IoT devices.

Edge Computing Engineer: Works on computing solutions that process data closer to the source instead of sending it to the cloud.

Network and Security

IoT Network Engineer: Designs and maintains IoT communication infrastructure

IoT Security Engineer: Protects IoT ecosystems from cyber threats.

Cloud & IoT Architect: Designs cloud infrastructure for IoT data storage and management.

Data and AI

IoT Data Scientist: Analyzes large-scale IoT-generated data to extract insights and optimize system performance.

AI and Machine Learning Engineer for IoT:  Develops AI models for predictive maintenance, automation, and real-time decision-making.

Business and Strategy

IoT Product Manager: Oversees the development and market positioning of IoT products.

IoT Consultant: Advises businesses on how to implement IoT solutions effectively.

Industrial IoT Specialist: Focuses on applying IoT solutions in manufacturing, smart factories, and automation.

Considering that the IoT field encompasses a variety of occupations, if you want to dig into the specific tasks and skill requirements for each one, I suggest you look them up in an occupational database such as O*NET (without including the term “IoT”). At the same time, if you are worried about whether AI will take over any of those jobs, you can use the 4-step method I proposed in another post to draw your own conclusion.

As for the IoT Engineer occupation itself, building expertise in it requires knowledge of hardware, software, networks, and security. Specifically:

• Knowledge of security measures
• Control and embedded systems skills
• AI and machine learning skills
• Application development skills
• Network knowledge

IoT engineering is a multidisciplinary field, like many other blended occupations of the 21st century, such as bioinformatics. You would not be expected to be an expert in each of the above-mentioned skills and areas of knowledge.

It is similar to thinking in terms of a T-shaped professional. You start with the subfield you feel most interested in (e.g. control and embedded engineering), spend time developing deep expertise in it, while also gaining a decent level of familiarity with all the other IoT engineering components.

How about the Japanese requirement?

It is challenging to precisely pinpoint the percentage of jobs that require Japanese.

Generally speaking, below are some considerations to keep in mind:

1. Most business-related jobs (e.g., marketing, PR, consulting) require a very high level of Japanese, even for overseas business expansion roles.
2. There is flexibility for engineering roles, but with the following caveats:
   2.1. The more experience you have, the more flexibility you might be given.
   2.2. Overall, N3-level Japanese is a potential entry point, while N2-level Japanese is an almost safe entry point.
3. Although in some cases, you will still see N2 or N1 certification requirements, most of the time, what matters most is the actual ability to communicate in Japanese.
4. There are indeed some companies that don’t require any Japanese (sometimes even for business-related positions). Rakuten is a well-known example, but there are also other companies, including ventures and startups. However, these are the exception.

Will the language requirement persist—in Japan or any other country—with the advancement of voice translator technologies? That is hard to say, and speculation is understandable given the rapid progress in the voice translator field.

Nevertheless, let me give you some food for thought: voice translation technology has been around for some years already. As a recruiter, I should have seen an increasing trend among Japanese companies toward relaxing the Japanese requirement. However, I have observed the opposite.

Many companies that had previously relaxed the Japanese requirement have since reversed their policies, keeping it only in specific cases, such as for professionals with significant experience.