A Chat with Artur Akhtyamov of PayPay about Experiences of Working in Japan

Introduction: Ryoko Nagai of EJable.com interviewed Software Engineer Artur Akhtyamov, who came to Japan in 2019, about his working experience in Japan.

Ryoko: Where are you originally from, and when did you come to Japan?

Artur: I am from Novocheboksarsk. It’s a small town on the Volga River in the Chuvash Republic in Russia. I lived there for about 14 years. Then my family decided to move to Cheboksary, the republic’s capital. Later, I moved to Moscow alone and joined The Advanced Educational Scientific Center – Kolmogorov’s boarding school of Lomonosov Moscow State University.

In 2012, I won the Moscow Physics competition. That allowed me to go to one of the best universities – Lomonosov Moscow State University, without exams. Here I got a bachelor’s degree in physics. It wasn’t enough for me, so I joined Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas and earned a master’s degree in geophysics. During that time, I learned many new things about the natural resources industry, geology, and others.

I knew that the IT industry is a popular destination for new grads. It has many different areas where I could apply my skills. And since I used computer methods, algorithms, and programming in my research, I tried to find a job in this area after graduation. Later, I started to work as a Golang engineer for Mixplat company in Moscow. It was hard for me initially because there were so many things I had to learn about Computer Science almost from scratch. But after some time, things improved, and doing regular tasks became relatively easy for me.

Later, I tried my luck finding a job in Japan because I really liked this country when I was here as a tourist and wanted to live there for some time. After several rounds of interviews, I got an offer from Rakuten – one of the biggest companies in Japan. I couldn’t believe it, and my dream became a reality. And in May 2019, I moved to Japan.

Ryoko: How was your process of moving to Japan?

Artur: It was a straightforward process. After I signed the offer, the company sent me several documents. They explained to me how the whole process works. It took about 1.5-2 months. At the same time, I gathered other documents from my side, including a Japanese engineer visa. Also, the company paid for the air ticket, which was a great courtesy from their side. Only one thing remained. I had to find a good place to stay for the first couple of months. I had to spend several days finding a proper place. There is a rule that people can’t enter Japan by booking a hotel room using a working visa. But fortunately, all preparations were completed, and later, in May 2019, I landed at Narita Airport in Japan. There I just submitted several documents to customs personnel and crossed the border. And here I am.

Ryoko: What was your first encounter with Japan, and how did you feel about that? Please also mention your initial reactions to Japan.

Artur: My first three feelings were about the cleanliness & beauty of Japan, the politeness of people, and also about the hot & humid weather 😊. On my first day, there was about a +33°C temperature. And I liked that. I like the hot weather here in Japan because it reminds me of the summer holidays when I was studying in school.

Ryoko: Could you also let us know what differences you find in working styles, project execution styles, etc., in Russia and Japan? What are your goals during your time in Japan or for your current position?

Artur: First, people make almost all decisions together here in Japan. From one point of view, it’s a good thing because you can hear and feel many different opinions about the subject of the discussion. It allows viewing the problem from different angles. But, on the other hand, sometimes there are so many people involved in the debate, even people who don’t directly relate to the topic of discussion, that it takes a vast amount of time to decide. You can feel that there is no end. In my country, we do an almost similar thing, but the number of participants is much less. Usually, everyone can share their thoughts, and then the person with the highest rank makes a final decision based on different opinions, and everyone should follow that conclusion. But sometimes, there are exceptions.

The second point is meetings. Meetings, meetings, meetings!!!

It was very unusual for me at the beginning. In my previous job, all engineers sat in a separate room. We could discuss any topic we wanted loudly, sitting at our tables without being afraid of disturbing other employees from other teams and departments. It is hard to imagine in open spaces, which is common in Japan.

There are other points, but it would be better to stop with these two and make this shorter.

Ryoko: What changes did you bring into your working style to fit in Japan?

Artur: As mentioned previously, I had to adapt to many meetings. Also, I tried to adapt and follow some Japanese work cultural behavior. For example, when you leave the office or the meeting ends, you must say, “otsukaresama deshita.” Or when you return to the office from a trip, you must bring some sweets or small souvenirs from the places you visited. I am glad I had good Japanese colleagues and mentors who could explain all these details to fit their culture during that time.

Ryoko: What aspects of Japan and Japanese culture do you like the most?

Artur: I love ancient Japanese history and culture. I travel a lot when I have an opportunity for that. I have visited many places like Tokyo, Choshi, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Yamanashi, Shiga, Nara, Osaka, Kobe, Himeji, Hiroshima, Okinawa, and my favorite – Kyoto. Each city and prefecture have a unique culture, customs, and food you can’t find elsewhere. It makes Japan an excellent place for travelers. There are many shrines, castles, museums, and other exciting places where you can plunge into the atmosphere of that time and those events that took place in the past.

When discussing working culture, people almost always try to understand your problem and help as much as possible. Sometimes finding a solution is challenging, but at least people are ready to listen to you. Also, as I mentioned previously, long meetings allow viewing the problem from many points of view, which can help in some situations.

Ryoko: Are there any things that you don’t like about Japan or the work culture?

Artur: Don’t be afraid to make fundamental changes, take a personal risk, be more open-minded, and trust people who suggest new ideas. They do that because they want to improve things. Also, I recommend spending more time on the planning phase of service development.

I know it’s impossible to predict all the details and situations that may happen in the future. But it can help avoid coming troubles if we spend more time thinking and imagining processes in the initial stage. Software development is like construction; a building will stand for a long time with a good foundation.

Ryoko: What do you like about your job?

Artur: When I can use my skills and knowledge, it makes me happy and gives me a purpose. The feeling that I can create a product that many people use daily, improve it, and make people’s lives easier makes me believe that my work is worth something.

Ryoko: How do you like working at PayPay?

Artur: One thing is the technological stack. Here we have a wide variety of tools that help us to resolve daily jobs, starting from Public Clouds and ending different automation tools. There are so many technologies that we always have something to improve and drive processes better, which makes our daily work more interesting. 

And the third thing I wanted to point out is the team. There were several moments when I had various difficulties during my work. Still, my colleagues and managers helped me deal with them despite the complications, for which I am really grateful.

Ryoko: What are your goals during your time in Japan or overall career, and how long do you plan to live in Japan?

Artur: My goal is to gain experience and knowledge and contribute to my employer at the current stage. So, later those can be used to create something great in the future.

It’s difficult to say how long, depending on many factors and the current situation. But if everything is okay, I would like to stay here at least for the next couple of years.

Ryoko: What do you like to do in your free time here?

Artur: When I came to Japan, I liked to go to the gym and work out. But later, the pandemic started, and I had to suspend that activity. Now, I spend my time training in a driving school, and I hope to get a license and have more options for traveling across Japan. I also like to play computer games from time to time. Moreover, I read books like fiction, historical literature, and others. The last book I finished reading a few days ago was about Oda Nobunaga. His story is a good example of how new tools, technologies, and non-standard approaches can help get a huge advantage.

Ryoko: Do you speak Japanese? If yes, how did you learn, and if not, what have been your experiences in Japan without Japanese language skills?

Artur: I can speak only basic Japanese. Honestly, I am very impressed that life here is so well organized that knowing only English is enough for regular life. However, I still need to spend more time studying Japanese.

Ryoko: Any tips or advice for people who wish to work in Japan?

Artur: You must understand that life here might be different than expected. There are many unique cultural characteristics you don’t encounter in other countries, and you must be ready for them. Maybe watching some YouTube videos would be a great idea, and it should help you understand and envision work and lifestyle before coming here.

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