Which one is more important for a Job in Japan – Written Japanese or spoken?

Both skills were equally important to work and become successful in Japan till now but recently it has been demonstrated that spoken Japanese ability is in higher demand. This is due to the fast internationalization and diversification of job types where client handling and presentational skills have become an essential part of your work profile.

Spoken Japanese is the first ability that is checked while interviewing as you might have guessed from reading the above section. Since you can showcase your knowledge to work in Japan and your willingness at the same time, it has been made an indispensable part of your visa clearance process too.

Be it a study visa or work visa, your spoken Japanese skills are checked first and the part of checking written Japanese comes later. If the company requirement includes specifically writing letters or emails to the client then your writing skills may be checked along with your spoken skills, at the beginning of the process itself.

It is inherently assumed that if you are willing to stay for a long term in Japan, you have to speak in Japanese and also know the routine laws applicable to the general population. It is safer for a person if he is able to understand and work coherently with the given laws and regulations of Japan. Also, it is better for you as well.

Coming to learning Japanese, I have always explained that you should go with spoken style while learning anything in the Japanese language be it vocabulary, Grammar, or even comprehension passage. This is a sure way to give you faster growth and deeper learning of the language because you are going to use these words at all times if you wish to work and stay for a long term in Japan.