Interview with Anand Joshi of SmartNews, Japan

This is the 12th interview in the “Interviews with Foreign Information Technology Engineers in Japan” series. “ EJable.com’s Ryoko Nagai talks to Anand Joshi of SmartNews, Japan.

Video Interview with Anand

Transcript of The Video

Ryoko: Good afternoon, Anand. Thank you for joining us today with us at EJable. I’m very happy to have this opportunity to talk to you and get to know about your experience. I’m also sure our viewers will find your experience here in Japan very helpful.

If you could please begin with your introduction, that would be very helpful.

Anand: Hi, good evening. Thanks. Thanks for setting up this.

I’m really happy to talk to you and share my experience, which hopefully helps other candidates who are considering moving to Japan.

So yeah, sure, I’ll just give a quick intro about myself. So, I’m Anand. I’m a software engineer working with SmartNews here in Tokyo. SmartNews is a very popular news aggregator platform. We are using Machine Learning and AI to recommend news to the users. And I’m working in one of their core teams, which is very exciting. And yeah, I’m happy to answer your questions.

Ryoko: Great. Then, to begin with, where are you originally from, and how and when did you come to Japan?

Anand: Yeah, sure. I’m originally from Mumbai, India. I came to Japan in early 2017. So, about six and a half years ago.

Ryoko: I see. And, was it simply just to see, to seek opportunities in the IT field in Japan, or was there any personal interest in coming to Japan as well?

Anand: So, to be honest, I wasn’t really actively pursuing any opportunities in Japan. Actually, I was going to the US for higher education.

I had a friend who was working in Japan, and she referred me for a job. And I happened to get the job offer. Initially, I was a bit reluctant, but I deferred my admission, and I thought I’d just maybe explore Japan for 6 to 12 months and see.

And yeah, that was that was my initial thing. But yeah, I never planned on coming, but I’m glad that it happened 😊.

Ryoko: OK, so it was something that you kind of stumbled upon, and you were a bit hesitant. What made you stay for such a long time, like over 6 years? What was the key point that made you want to stay or explore other companies and you know fields here in Japan?

Anand: Right. So, the initial reluctance that I had was mainly because I did not have a lot of friends here. I had friends who had moved to other countries for higher education or work at that time.

I didn’t see many people from my college or university coming to Japan at least six and a half years back. So that was my reluctance. However, after coming here, I was really happy.

I met a lot of expats here. There is a thriving international community and really great engineers.

So, yes, as I mentioned, I just wanted to, like, try for 6 to 12 months and what I wanted to essentially do was higher education.

But then I realized that even after that higher education what I would do was pretty much the same kind of work that I was already doing. So, it didn’t make any sense for me to, you know, just get that education and then go back to working. I could just learn while I was working. So that was a good thing and I was fortunate enough to get good mentors, and people around me that I was able to learn and grow.

Ryoko: OK. Amazing. Then, over the past six years, have you learned to speak Japanese? Is it something that you need to have in your daily life within work or outside of work?

Anand: I can speak very basic Japanese. I can order food at a restaurant, ask for directions, and make small talk 😊, but I’m not very proficient in Japanese.

A lot of companies, my current company, and my past companies, do sponsor Japanese language education. So, I’ve taken a few courses as well. But over the years, I’ve not needed Japanese actively in my day-to-day work.

And as they say, you know, that necessity is the mother of all inventions, and so far, it’s not been like a do-or-die situation for me in terms of learning Japanese. You can pretty much do everything, especially in Tokyo.

And maybe outside Tokyo also, if you go to a remote place or, you know, vacation. But people are very friendly, and your life shouldn’t have any problem without Japanese, although this is something that I would not recommend to people considering learning. I have been just lazy. But yeah, one should definitely learn.

Ryoko: OK, great. That’s very nice. Then, touching upon your current position in SmartNews, what do you like that you do at SmartNews?

Anand: So, currently, as I mentioned, I’m working as an engineer in the news ranking team within SmartNews. News ranking is one of the core systems within SmartNews.

I’m really happy that I get to work on one of the company’s most critical systems. What I really like about SmartNews is that it has one of the best engineering cultures. A lot of decisions that go into product design development are mostly bottom-up. It’s not like management just gives you an order, and everyone does it. So that is something I really like.

There are a lot of diverse people from diverse backgrounds. In fact, in the Tokyo office, if I’m not mistaken, there are people from about 18 different nationalities. We have offices in other countries as well, like the US, and China. I work with the global teams, so I get to interact with people from other countries. So yeah, I mean overall I’m really happy with my current position.

Ryoko: OK. Then, in terms of, well, you said that your team is more like bottom up, but in terms of, like, project execution, have you come across some differences or some things that you had to adopt coming from India to Japan?

Anand: So, one correction I didn’t mean it was bottom-up just from my team. I think it’s in general in SmartNews. It’s mostly bottom-up.  

Now coming to the other part: the difference between working in Japan and India. So, I have about nine and a half years of work experience. Out of which close to seven years in Japan. So, I think I have more work experience in Japan. So, I might not have the right picture about comparing working in Japan versus working in my country, I think.

Ryoko: OK. Then I guess maybe something that I’m curious about is that I see that you have been working in several companies since you’ve been here. Have you seen some changes in terms of the way we work? Do you know if it’s like a hybrid work culture or if there have been more international workers here over the past six years?

Anand: Right. So yes, there are definitely a lot of foreigners and foreign candidates here now as compared to six years back.

Also, a lot of companies are opening up. Earlier, maybe 10 years back, it was very difficult to find a job in Japan if someone wanted to be proficient in Japanese, right? That is not true anymore. A lot of companies are sponsoring candidates without having Japanese.

So yeah, things have definitely changed in terms of the working environment in Japan as well. Companies are embracing remote work or hybrid work. In fact, my company also has a hybrid work culture. They do understand that, at the end of the day, what matters is getting things done. And as long as people are doing that, I think companies are quite supportive.

Ryoko: OK, nice. Because I feel like a lot of us, even Japanese people who are just entering the labor force, have this image that, you know, Japanese people are workaholics, and we work from 9:00 am to midnight or something like that. And I feel like, in some cases, it could be true. But there are a lot of misconceptions. So, do you have anything that you would or can clarify in terms of such misconceptions many might have?

Anand: Yeah, I think there are a lot of stereotypes and narrators that people have heard from, like people committing suicide because of overwork and people don’t have personal lives, which in my experience in the last six and a half years is far from the truth. I’ve never experienced that kind of thing. Nor have I seen that kind of behavior with any of my colleagues.

So I think that’s probably just old things and not true anymore. As you are also aware, the Japanese labor laws are quite strict, and one of the most pro-employees in the world, for example. I remember in one of my other companies, you were not supposed to do overtime after certain hours, and it’s strictly logged. They send that data over to the government. So I think that way even the government has probably recognized that Japan used to have a bad image, and they’ve taken several steps to mitigate that.

And yeah, I think in different companies that I’ve worked with in Japan, I’ve had a good work-life balance. And I think my managers, like I had Japanese managers and non-Japanese managers as well, were quite understanding and helpful. So, in terms of work stress burden, I’ve not experienced that, and I’m sure that’s not true for most of the companies that overseas candidates look for.

Ryoko: Amazing. That’s very good to hear. And I’m sure our viewers will be happy to hear that.

Then, the final questions regarding your work. Do you plan to stay here in Japan longer, and do you have any goals for your career here?

Anand: Right. So yeah, it’s funny how I was planning to stay in Japan for just 6 to 12 months, and now it’s been more than six and a half years.

To be honest, I do not have a clear plan as of now. I’m really enjoying my life here in Japan, and my wife is also working here. She also enjoys it. So, yeah, we both are quite satisfied and would definitely look forward to working in Japan for the long term.

In terms of career goals – I’m a software engineer, and I would like to develop myself as a more senior individual contributor, maybe principal developer or system architect going ahead.

And since we were discussing Japan and how it has changed, I think probably five or six years back, if someone said that they wanted to be a senior individual contributor, like a very senior engineer, uh, there wasn’t a clear path.

I mean if you wanted to get promoted in Japan, you always kind of had to become some kind of manager. But, uh, I’ve seen that great change happen, and a lot of companies have a separate path for individual contributors who don’t want to get into management but are really interested in working as an engineer. So yeah, a lot of exciting things are happening here in Japan.

Ryoko: Amazing. That sounds great. Then, moving on to your social life, basically outside of work, what aspects of Japan or Japanese culture do you like?

Anand: There are a lot of things, actually. So, one is in general the cleanliness. I think it’s deeply rooted within society. I really like and appreciate how they even teach kids to keep their school and their classes clean.

The other thing is attention to detail. It’s evident from the fine craftsmanship that you will see in the Japanese brands, whatever brands you pick. Doing things to perfection, no matter how small it is. This can be seen in every aspect of Japanese society, including the work that I’m doing in IT. Of course, there are other things like hospitality, a deep reverence for nature, and things like that.

Ryoko: Amazing. Then what do you like to do in your free time?

Anand: Uh, I play guitar, so yeah. I usually meet friends, and we hang around. I really like that there are a lot of studios that you can rent around Tokyo, so, you can meet friends. I also have a blog, so sometimes, I do write some articles, just random topics that I like. And yeah, I like playing video games, so I do that 😊.

Ryoko: Amazing 😊. Then have you traveled around Japan as well?

Anand: Yes, I’ve been to several places.

Ryoko: Then, do you still prefer to live in Tokyo? Because, you know, worldwide, people see Tokyo as a big metropolitan city. It’s very crowded, and it’s very busy. I’m sure some people are hesitant to live in such a busy and chaotic place. What do you think about living in Tokyo?

Anand: I personally like the busyness and the crowd, the liveliness of Tokyo. What’s unique is that despite having so many crowds and being a very busy, bustling city, there is always a park a stone’s throw away. Wherever you live, there is a beautiful park and springs, and it’s really beautiful and calm. So, whenever I want or when I want to go away from the city, there are places within the city where you can just go and forget the city. So that’s what I really like about Tokyo and probably I wouldn’t want to move anywhere else than Tokyo.

Ryoko: OK. Yeah, that’s true. Yeah, I’ve been to some other countries, and in some countries, it’s really hard to find a park or even just a park where kids can play. So, I think having that here in Tokyo would be very nice. Yeah, great. Then, I guess, moving on to some tips or advice that you may have for people who will be going through, you know, interviews while getting a job here in Japan. Do you have any tips or advice that you could give?

Anand: Right. So I think it’s very important to list the companies you are interested in. So, when you’re looking to move to Japan, you should definitely come up with a list because, as I mentioned, you don’t want to pick a company that is like a stereotypical Japanese company. Although I’m sure they might not be hiring from overseas, so that’s fine. So, shortlist the companies.

The interview process can vary greatly depending on the company and can be quite lengthy. I would say it takes at least one to four or five months, depending on the company you’re applying to. So, one should be prepared for a long interview process.

The other thing is the, like, the actual process. So, some companies might have a standard, like tests, like coding tests that you need to give, like the kind where you either pass or fail. Some other companies have more subjective tests. So, they will give you an assignment. Take-home assignment. Maybe you will work on it for like a week or two. Of course, you need to invest a lot of time, but at the same time, it gives the company and you a good opportunity to display your skills.

Yes, so I would definitely advise people to do thorough research on this. Apart from this, I would also advise people to look at startups. There are a lot of startups in Japan. I think the government has a lot of initiators and different visas for startups in Japan. So, that’s really good. I think if you are overseas, do not worry about whether they’ll be able to accommodate you or, you know, help you with immigration or things like if you are applying to a startup from overseas. That’s pretty smooth. And you should be open to exploring smaller companies as well.

Ryoko: OK. Yes. Yeah, I see a lot of advertisements even on trains promoting startups. So yeah, that’s a great advice. Yes, thank you very much. Then any questions for me? I don’t have any more questions. Do you have questions or any comments that you wish to add?

Anand: Well, from my personal experience, if someone’s really looking to come to Japan or is in a dilemma, whether they should come or not, I think you should just come and see for yourself as I did. A lot of my friends and family were also a bit reluctant and advised me against going.

Ryoko: OK.

Anand: But I think I made the best decision, so there’s no harm in just, you know, coming. You’re seeing it yourself rather than asking for opinions from 10 different people.

Ryoko: Great. Thank you. That’s great advice. And yeah, thank you so much for your time today. I had a great time getting to know you better and your experience. And yeah, I wish you the best of luck for the future. Thank you very much 😊.

Anand: Thank you, it was very nice talking to you as well.

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