Internship in Japan: Paid and Unpaid Opportunities All Over Japan!

This was a great program. I needed an overseas internship to complete my degree and wanted to do it in Japan. Japan is not an easy country to find internships in, but they were able to find me an internship for the summer that was directly related to my field of study. The company was supportive during my entire internship and have continued to be a supportive of me after my internship came to a close.
The company holds parties every month or so and they are always a good time.
I highly recommend this program to anyone who is interested in interning in Japan.

I was a bit skeptical at first, because of my interest in doing an internship related to game development and illustration, but ICC really delivered. (I was actually recommended by a friend at school!) I could not have asked for a cooler job experience, in central Tokyo, doing what I love to do. My agent was very invested in finding something that would be appropriate for my skill set. My college required a lot of stressful paperwork but ICC made sure all of that got signed for me. While the cost may seem high, the agency does most of the hard work for you, and the only things you have to worry about are preparing your portfolio, resume, etc., and the interview process.

The Internship in Japan staff was super friendly and helpful and I could tell they genuinely cared about each and every person under their wing. They held parties every now and then and it was fun to talk and connect with the other interns.

I was in Japan for 6 months, and spent every weekend and holiday thoroughly exploring Tokyo and other areas. I've been to themed cafes, concerts, various anime/manga and game conventions, and too many shrines and temples to count. Japan is beautiful, fun, and safe, and I'm so glad I decided to do an internship there through ICC.

Upon coming to Japan, I had never worked in a business type setting that I knew I was going to be working for, so I had no expectations. First off, ICC's help was tremendously appreciated & needed. From the very start, everything was explained through a skype interview (not a stressful interview, but like a "getting to know you & the company" sort of interview) anyways, they helped me with every stage of the process, from choosing my preferred job, to practice interview questions and accommodation.

Landing in Japan, I was actually quite nervous. I have travelled to Japan over 25 countries alone before & have never felt this nervous before. I then met the team whom I had been seeing in my skype interviews, face to face, which was nice, they then explained about the work culture, home culture and expected standards in Japan & a lot of that nervous feeling went away.

I had 2 days to settle into my new home, which ICC recommended me to a company that has a bunch of share homes throughout Japan & Korea. I then started work on Monday. As all things new, it was a little daunting. But, I soon got used to my position & what I was doing there seemed so familiar in the end that I didn't want to leave. At the start of the internship I was always going to my supervisors (2) for jobs to complete, however by the end of my internship, I was working with everyone on small & big jobs and really felt like part of the team.

Post- Internship, I'm glad I did it, I'm glad I went outside of my comfort zone and took this chance. I have now made friends from all over the world & I believe that having this experience has prepared me in finding a future job after I complete my university degree.

A couple of tips would be to familiarize yourself with your new home & work place, I frequently went for walks & was constantly finding things, places & shops I wouldn't have known about otherwise, also this may come in handy if you get lost or run out of battery power on your phone.

Internship in Japan allowed me to test the waters in the Japanese corporate world while enjoying the full support of a team of professionals. I spent a month in Tokyo, where I worked in a international law firm. Despite the sometimes long and exhausting hours, the experience was a real eye-opener. I major in law, but through this internship I learnt so much about the actual work in the legal sector that I could never have gleaned simply through university. I was even lucky enough to have the opportunity to go on a business trip to another part of the country! My colleagues were all kind and helpful, especially my boss, and the same can be said of the Internship in Japan staff who regularly checked up with my firm and I to see how I was doing.

I was placed by Internship in Japan into a share-house with both Japanese and other foreigners, and while it was not the cleanest place ever, the share-house environment was like a family and it turned out to have been one of the best things about my internship. I was left with so many unforgettable memories with the friends I made there.

My weekends (and sometimes even after work hours) were whiled away exploring Tokyo and its neighbouring areas. Whether you prefer soaking up sunlight on a lazy Saturday morning underneath a canopy of the last of the year's autumn foliage, or strolling through a winter dreamscape of thousands upon thousands of lavish Christmas lights, Tokyo is guaranteed to find some way to make you fall in love. For anyone who is considering going on this internship, I truly recommend getting out as much as you can, and keeping your mind open to trying out all sorts of new things.

For me, this internship has been an excellent stepping stone in the path to my future career, and it has definitely further fueled my desire to work in Japan again in the future.

I'll be honest and go straight to the point. The paperwork and interview stage is stressful, but once you get past that and relax a bit, you'll see that ICC Consultants is a very friendly and helpful company, with a great, positive staff. There's a very good reason why you're asked to provide so many details and information about your skills and experience, and that reason is that the company puts in a lot of effort to make sure you're placed in a position that fits you and your personality and doing a job that brings you enjoyment and satisfaction. At least, this was my experience.

I can only think of one minus point, namely that I wasn't provided with a relevant link for my internship, which led to a rather awkward moment at the interview. However, this was just a simple misunderstanding that can happen to anyone and was very easily remedied.

I think the most important thing about this program is that it pushed me to challenge myself and do things I wouldn't have thought I can do. Looking back, I will admit that some days were exhausting, but overall I feel exhilarated and more self-confident. The wonderful support I received from ICC and the company I interned at also helped a lot. I hope everyone gets a chance in their lifetime to work with such supportive and positive people.

Doing an internship through Internship in Japan is simply not worth it. You pay far too much money for just mediocre service, and an even worse internship. I only did it because of personal circumstances, and now I regret it.

First of all, if you want to do an internship in Asia, but are not sure which country to choose, DO NOT choose Japan. Living costs and programs for other countries are often MUCH cheaper, and you can get pretty much the same quality (and availability of) internships.

If your goal is to live in Japan long-term, DO NOT come through an internship. The odds are extremely low you will be hired, and then it will be too late to look for other jobs. The easiest way is to come teaching English, learn the language, and then change your job.

Anyway, on to my review of Internship in Japan. I had problems with the following they claimed to offer:
1) Guaranteed internship placement: for a company that has been placing foreigners in Japanese companies since 2012, you would think that they have a huge database of companies eager to place inexperienced foreigners in entry-level positions. No. If you don't have the proper background for your field, and if you can't speak Japanese, your options are extremely limited. They searched for 3 months to find me a finance internship, but to no avail (I ended up doing one in another field).
2) The career coaching and training: make sure you ask for it. They never gave me the pre-arrival orientation, and only gave me the internship orientation after I asked. Pathetic, huh?
3) Free Japanese lessons. Bogus! They give you a website with a few videos of the most basic, useless Japanese conversation. You're better off watching YouTube videos.
4) Health insurance: No, it's only basic accident insurance.
5) Certificate of completion: Never got it.

They don't always respond to messages, which I found disgusting. They also never once sent me a message asking how I was doing, or how the internship was going. In other words, once they get your money, they couldn't care less about you.

When searching for internships, they really keep you in the dark. I even had to recommend internships FROM THEIR OWN WEBSITE to contact. Only then did they consider them. Unbelievable!

As for the internship itself, as I mentioned, no one from the agency checked in with me. Also, my boss was not interested in teaching me anything: I was just free labor. Sometimes, there was nothing for me to do, even after I asked for more assignments. My boss was so out-of-touch that I could get away with watching YouTube videos during work hours. Never once did he comment on my performance, and didn't try to give me extra projects until I asked. I ended up quitting 2 weeks early since it was becoming just a waste of time with no benefit. Without even a Thank You, his parting words to me were, "Good luck." If you choose to do an internship with Internship in Japan, my parting words to you are the same.

I interned with a small start-up through IIJ for less than a month and it was a great experience!

The IIJ experience usually begins with some Skype video calls to gauge which business would work best with your interests but it is advisable to schedule such inquiries as far as advance as possible to get the most opportunities possible! Anyhow, the interviews themselves went smoothly and I appreciated the flexibility of the staff to work with my tight schedule.

While I spoke little Japanese, I still managed to contribute to the company that I was assigned to, primarily through creating a marketing program towards attracting international clients living in Japan as well as assisting Japanese clients in their English. As with the previous review, I've learned a lot of how businesses work within Japan as well as providing an important perspective check on etiquette when conducting business abroad.

Throughout my internship, I had IIJ staff ensuring that they would touch base with me on a consistent basis and ensuring that my experience went smoothly. There's also networking opportunities with fellow foreign interns as well as Japanese interns heading abroad who are in a sister program.

If you're interested in interning in Japan, this is a worthwhile agency to work with!