For people with refugee backgrounds (from Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, and Myanmar) who have acquired a business level of Japanese proficiency and are currently or will soon be job hunting, Pathways Japan will offer opportunities for mentorship to help them acquire the necessary CV writing and interview skills for their job-hunting and get some advice to achieve their career goals.
Date, time and place
– Orientation Thursday, July 23, 2026, 20:00 – 21:00 Online
– Session 1 August, 2026 Mentorship Online
– Session 2 Saturday, September 5 & Sunday, September 6, 2026
Mentorship in person & “Japanese Seminar for Work”
*Mentorship may take place in hybrid format
– Session 3 October, 2026 Mentorship Online
– Session 4 November, 2026 Mentorship Online
What will offer:
Mentors from corporate will offer four sessions of mentorship both in Japanese and English.
- CV review
- Interview exercise and advice
- Consultation on career planning
Also, “Japanese seminars for work”by certified Japanese teacher(s) will be provided during the mentorship period.
In addition, we will host a 【Job Hunting Seminar】 in collaboration with partner companies, which will include a 【Joint Company Information Session】 (separate registration required). You will have the opportunity to meet directly with company representatives and obtain a variety of information related to employment.
▶Please see the website of last year’s programs
Please read the details below.
We look forward to receiving applications from as many people as possible!
1.Program
– The mentorship program will be held from August to November, with one-hour session per month for a total of four sessions. (Three sessions are scheduled to be held online, and one in person.)
-The specific dates and times will be determined individually in consultation with your mentor.
-Each session will focus on a specific topic. Participants (mentees) are required to submit a pre-session assignment and complete a post-session survey for each session.
-During the second mentoring session, mentees may attend the “Japanese Seminar for Work.”
-This can serve as part of the preparation for the “Job Hunting Seminar and Joint Company Information Session” organized by Pathways Japan.
| Month | Date and Time (planned) | Format | Topic |
| July | Thursday 23rd 20:00-21:00 | Online | Orientation（Recordings will be available at a later date ） |
| Aug | Arrange with your mentor | Online | （1st）Self-analysis, self-introduction, polish CV |
| Sep | Saturday 5th and Sunday 6th | in person(Tokyo) ＊Hybrid foramat is a possibility | （2nd）Deepen self-analysis, Industries/Companies research“Japanese seminar for work” |
| Friday, 18th | in person(Tokyo) | “Job Hunting Seminar and Joint Company Information Session” (*we will send you application information) | |
| Oct | Arrange with your mentor | Online | (3rd）Prepararing to apply for companies, CV and interview. |
| Nov | Arrange with your mentor | Online | (4th) Preparing to apply for companies, CV and interview. |
2.Languages：Either Japanese or English
-Since this program is designed to prepare for job hunting in Japan, CV and job interviews will ultimately be prepared in Japanese.
-Mentoring sessions will be conducted in either Japanese or English, depending on the mentee’s preference.
-Please note that the “Japanese seminar for work” to be held in September will be conducted in Japanese.
3. Number of recruitments: 20
4.Cost: Free of charge
5.Eligibility for Application: Persons who fall under all of the following categories
– Refugee-background youth from Syria, Afghanistan, Ukraine, Myanmar with resident status with work permit (including part-time work permit), residing in Japan.
– Must be between 20 and 37 years of age
– Minimum of N3 equivalent (600 hours) of Japanese language study experience and the ability to speak, read and write at a business level in Japanese.
– B2 level English proficiency, with the ability to speak, read and write at a business level in English
– Those who are in strong need of employment and are actually looking for work or have begun job hunting.
*Participants of past sessions of job hunting mentorship by Pathways Japan may apply but will only be considered for selection if there are openings available.
【Travel Expenses】 Partial subsidies are available for mentees outside the Greater Tokyo Area
*For participants outside the Greater Tokyo Area attending in-person mentorship sessions, we will provide partial subsidies to eligible applicants within the available budget.
6. Application review criteria
If the number of applicants exceeds the maximum number, participants will be selected based on the following criteria
– Persons regarded to have a high need for individual guidance, advice,or consultation
– Applicants must meet the eligibility requirements
– Those with a high need for early employment
– Have a clear will to seek employment and concrete plans, with the awareness of challenges they are facing.
– Have Japanese language skills appropriate for the desired position, or be prepared for job-hunting for any position according to their language skills.
7. Recruitment Schedule
Application period: Monday,June 8, 2026 – Monday,June 22, 2026
Notification of participants: Monday,July 13, 2026 (planned)
8. How to apply
Please fill out the application form below and submit it along with scanned data of the following documents 1) to 6)) from the designated website.
- Curriculum vitae
- Documents proving or explaining that the applicant has a refugee background (e.g. statement of difficulty in returning to home country)
- Copy of resident card (front and back)
- Documents certifying Japanese language proficiency (results of JLPT or other exams, or record of having studied up to N3 level)
- Other documents for reference (Not mandatory and upon your preference) (letters of recommendation, Certificate of final education, results of IELTS or other foreign language examinations, etc.)
- Self-introduction video in Japanese (1 to 2 minutes long)
・ If you have been selected as a beneficiary of Pathways Japan’s program before, it is not necessary to submit 2) to 5) or 2) to 6) depending on your status.
*In principle, application documents will not be returned.
9. Results
Selection will be made by the Review Committee based on a review of applications.
Policy for dealing with Personal Information
Personal information submitted at the time of application will be used, managed and protected appropriately in accordance with the “Privacy Policy”.
（Voices from last year’s participants）
・I have received feedback and some really useful recommendations to my CV, so I could improve it. And also the interview practice was a good one to understand my strong and weak points.
・The mentor gave us very practical advice such as strategic composition of CV, strategic approach to interviews (STAR – situation, task, action and result) and the standing point of a recruiter.
・The reason it was great is that beside experiencing an interview with a company employee, I could hear nice advice and ask questions, which I cannot ask during a real interview.
・The interviewer was very attentive, asked very good questions and gave a lot of really useful feedback afterwards.
▶Please refer to last year’s program
