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―What made you decide to seek work in Japan? During university, I learned kendo, became deeply interested in Japan, and became a fan of Japanese anime and TV dramas. After that, I got married to a Japanese woman in Taiwan, but my wife started to say that she wanted to go back to Japan, so I decided I wanted to find a job in Japan and move the base of our lives there. I often speak Japanese with my wife, but I also studied for two years myself while attending a Japanese language school.

―How did you search for a job in Japan? I worked in Taiwan for five years as an in-house system engineer, so I wanted to make use of that experience. At first, we stayed in Nara Prefecture, where my wife’s family lives, but the local employment services office told us that Tokyo is better for IT-type jobs. Before Adecco, I provided system engineering service for a mid-sized Japanese business, but the job-search agency I was registered with introduced me to Adecco, and I passed the interview with them.

―Tell us why you chose to join Adecco. Adecco excels in communication with global employees, and it was very easy to speak with them openly as equals. Everyone at Adecco has a very global point of view on values regarding how to work, so their working values also suited me. In Taiwan, direct-hire situations are common, and working as a dispatch employee is rare, but Adecco’s dispatch engineers are hired as full-time employees. I was grateful for that security and assurance, and decided to join the company.

―Compared with Taiwan, is Japan an easy place to live? Taiwan may have more options available for food, but Japan has a fully developed transportation system, so that’s convenient. Sidewalks and car roads are cleanly separated, and public trains and buses are pleasant to ride. I’ve lived in Tokyo for about two and a half years, but it’s globalizing, and I think it’s comfortable for foreigners. However, everywhere in the metropolitan area of Tokyo is crowded, so you have to know where to look to find a good place to spend time.

―How do you spend your days off? I’m trying to visit all of the forty-seven prefectures in Japan, so I go on a lot of trips. I’ve already been to twenty-four places. I love eating, so my favorite place is Osaka. I like to “overindulge in food,” like people in Osaka are famous for. I also enjoy leisure facilities, and recently I went to the newly opened Moomin Valley Park in Saitama Prefecture. That place is like a dream for people who like Moomin.

―What was the atmosphere like at the training you had after you entered Adecco? I met the other engineers for the first time on the day of the training, but we had a very enjoyable time together. They were from various countries, so we talked about where we came from, our hobbies, how we enjoyed Japan, and so on.

―Have you been assigned to a client yet? Yes, I will be working as an operation engineer at a TV station, where I’ll maintain system operation. Adecco introduced me to many companies that matched my skills and experiences. After my interview with the client, the Adecco manager actively followed up on the phone and by email, so I was able to wait until my assignment without worrying. The manager on the client end was also quite easy to talk to, so I’m looking forward to working there.

―Tell us your goals for your work. I want to get to the upstream processes as an engineer, so within two to three years, I’d like to become a project manager. In Taiwan, I got as far as being sub-leader, but I think it would be difficult for me to suddenly manage my team members in Japan, so I’d like to accumulate experiences for a while and then try my hand at a leadership role. I want to continue making progress in Japan and experience a sense of accomplishment in my work.