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Greetings,

Thank you for reading this newsletter! (If you are new here, welcome! See what you missed in past newsletters.)

This edition will cover the following topics:

• Conclusion regarding the pay transparency discussion for the Nihongo Jobs job board
• Special gift for August in celebration of Ikigai Connections' 8 year anniversary (inc. feedback opportunity)
• Introduction: Adult Beginner Japanese Course from Maplopo
• Next dates for JCO's online cross-cultural trainings to boost efficiency with global teams

Sincerely,

Kasia （カーシャ）

Founder, Ikigai Connections & Sr. Consultant, Japan Consulting Office (LinkedIn)

Pay transparency on the Nihongo Jobs job board

Pay transparency is a complicated topic. Employer and job seeker feedback was shared in the April and May newsletters (view them here), and here is what was decided for the Nihongo Jobs job board:

• Salary and hourly rates will continue to stay optional
• A message that this information is "highly recommended" is added within the job ad posting process: "It is *highly recommended* to add the min and max rates or salaries, especially because some search engines do not index jobs that are missing this data."

This was not an easy decision to make, but the hope is that users of the job board will add their salary/rate information for the many reasons previously discussed: it promotes transparency, aligns expectations, saves time for both parties, and ultimately improves recruitment and retention. Job ads that have this data will also get more visibility in search engines, so it pays to share a reasonable range in order to be found by candidates.

Ikigai Connections celebrates 8 years in August

Ikigai Connections is turning 8, and it is fun to look back at how the company has evolved.

• LLC formed on August 29, 2018
• Job board started May 2019 veeeery slowly
• The job ad posting process is 95% automated, which helps reduce human error and allows for postings to go up immediately and at any time that the customer is ready
• After only word-of-mouth and no advertising, the current number of followers on each social media profile is: LinkedIn (16,350), Facebook (845), Instagram (1,382), Twitter/X (283), Bluesky (69), Threads (230), weekly Tuesday job seeker newsletter (807), weekly Thursday LinkedIn newsletter (10,502)
• Working on SEO (search engine optimization) has helped Nihongo Jobs become one of the top search results for Japanese jobs in the USA - - - most significantly, coming in with the top two companies, Indeed and LinkedIn 🤩 (of course, after the advertisements)

As a special thank-you, please use coupon code 8YEARS to take 30% off one 15-day or one 30-day job ad (limit one per person in the month of August).

30-day job ad $249 > $174.30

15-day job ad $129 > $90.30

Job posting instructions are at the bottom of this email ⬇️ This will be shared publicly in mid-August, but newsletter subscribers get advance notification to plan ahead ;-)

As always, feedback with constructive suggestions on anything that can be improved is very welcome! You may reply to this email or submit your thoughts via this confidential form.

Introducing a new Japanese language course for beginners

Ikigai Connections is happy to partner with Maplopo for many language courses that they provide, but this one in particular is something that companies may find interesting for any employees who travel to Japan and need/want some Japanese language lessons.

This is a beginner course for individuals who want to tackle Japanese transportation, stores, and restaurants. It is online and self-guided, so no worry about timezones or group work. That said, Doc and Reiko from Maplopo are available throughout the entire learning process.

Students will receive recorded versions of every word and sentence, custom Anki decks, structural video breakdowns, access to their larger community of advanced learners and professionals inside and outside of Japan, and more support in their Discord server - all without any expiration dates.

Pricing is $225/student, and you can take the first step by reading about the program and registering here to share this great benefit for your employees.

Cross-cultural training opportunities

JCO celebrates 20 years in 2026! I am happy to provide cross-cultural trainings for Japan Consulting Office because I firmly believe that such knowledge-sharing is important for global business.

If you'd like to get a glimpse into how JCO trainers work virtually and in-person, consider attending an efficiency-boosting Open Workshop:

• "Working and Communicating with Japanese Colleagues, Clients and HQ" Monthly session information here (in English)
• 「アメリカ人同僚との仕事とコミュニケーション講座」Monthly session information here (in Japanese)

Each virtual seat at an Open Workshop offers the following:
🎯 A pre-course questionnaire so we can learn what matters most to you
📚 1-month access to all JCO E-learning modules (7 engaging topics in English and 8 in Japanese)
🗣️ A live, interactive 2-hour session (11 AM - 1 PM CT) with practical tips you can start using right away
Price per session: $490 USD

𝗛𝗥 𝗼𝗿 𝗟&𝗗 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹𝘀: If you're in charge of training at your organization, you can attend for free by agreeing to a follow-up call. It’s a no-risk way to see if the course is right for your organization.

Press hit "reply" if you are interested in learning more!

About Nihongo Jobs

Thank you for being a part of this community! Learn more about Nihongo Jobs here if you'd like to post a job ad to the Ikigai Connections community of 20,000+ followers who are interested in using their Japanese language and/or cultural skills in a career.

FYI: here are the steps to follow. If you already have a job description created, it should take you 10-15 minutes on average:

1. ​Log in or register on Nihongo Jobs
2. Select the 15-day or 30-day job ad (bulk options also available)
3. Add your job ad details
4. Make your payment
5. Upon submitting, you will receive a confirmation email with links to the social media posts. (This usually takes a few minutes, but please check your spam folder if you don't receive it.)

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to hit "reply"!

Learn more about the Nihongo Jobs job board here. See how featured job ads are promoted: LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, Bluesky, Threads, LinkedIn newsletter (Tuesdays), job seeker newsletter (Thursdays).

If you haven't already used coupon code "nihongo" for 25% off a single 15-day or 30-day job ad, login/register to use it now.