Hi everyone,

I'm applying to a research program for 2025-2026 after completing my bachelor's in music and sound design for games next summer. The program will be at Tokyo University of Technology starting in September 2025. My aim is to work in the audio industry in Japan, ideally as a sound creator or music composer at a Japanese video game studio, which has always been a dream of mine.

Currently, I'm studying for the N4 exam this December, with plans to take the N3 in July 2025. my plan is to study a lot of Japanese to achieve N2 proficiency by 2026, which will hopefully allow me to apply for a variety of jobs in the audio industry, of course with my ambition being specifically in music composition and sound design for video games, I''d hope to find opportunities before the end of the research year and my visa expiring.

However, I'm not familiar with the typical requirements for working in the audio industry in Japan. In France, where I'm from, sound design and music composition are very competitive fields. Initially, I considered applying for new graduate positions in 2025 at Japanese game studios for an easier entry, but considering my current level of Japanese proficiency I will probably wont find much until after I passed my N2.

I've this month applied to a few video game companies (6) to gain insight into their expectations. It seems that larger companies like Capcom and Koei Tecmo are open to hiring foreigners, but they require candidates with N2 or higher JLPT scores.

I'm unsure about the likelihood of being hired by independent game studios as a foreigner, I'd think this would be even more difficult

Additionally, I'll be 28 next year, which might affect my prospects when applying for entry-level positions in the audio industry. I know this is probably a very saturated job market even in Japan and so that my chances could be slim to none but I appreciate any insights or information you can provide and it would be greatly appreciated !

Thank you for reading my post.