Should you actually work in Japan? The complete decision framework — interview with Nathan Paterson (ex-Disney, ex-IDEO) Part 3/3

Born and raised in Auckland, New Zealand, Nathan Paterson has built an adventurous and innovation-forward career in Japan. After working as a designer in London, he came to Tokyo as an English teacher with basic textbook Japanese — then worked his way through a variety of traditional and progressive companies and founded his own companies.

He spent nearly 10 years at Disney across Tokyo and Los Angeles, where he led research and design of digital platforms including the precursor to Disney+. He later became Director of Learning Programs at IDEO, a global design consultancy transforming Japan’s largest corporations.

Very few people — foreign or Japanese — have navigated such a successful 20+ year career across Japan’s business landscape. If you’re considering working in Japan, Nathan’s journey reveals what it actually takes to build a cross-cultural career here.

What you’ll learn in this article:

• How to evaluate whether Japan is right for your career

• The salary vs. experience tradeoff

• The “nothing to lose” test

• What really matters when choosing between countries

A lot of students weighing whether to take a job in Japan or stay in the US want to know about the elephant in the room: the salary difference. Nathan’s response is refreshingly direct.

The Salary Reality

“Let’s be direct: yes, the salary in Japan will generally be lower than what you’ll get from a Silicon Valley company or New York investment banking firm.”

Nathan acknowledges this upfront. The yen is weak right now, and if you look at pure numbers on a spreadsheet, Japan doesn’t compete with top US salaries.

But here’s what that spreadsheet doesn’t tell you.

The US is very expensive. When Nathan was at Disney in Los Angeles, he and his family looked to buy a house for about a year and a half. They couldn’t find something they could both love and afford. “It’s out of control,” he recalls.

Meanwhile, Tokyo often tops lists of the world’s most expensive cities — and maybe as a visitor staying at beautiful hotels and eating at fancy sushi restaurants, that might be true. But living in Japan doesn’t have to cost that much. “You can eat incredible food around the corner from your apartment for next to nothing,” Nathan explains.

He tells the story of a holiday in Italy and Greece. When they came back to Tokyo, still craving Italian food, they went to a little restaurant around the corner — no name, no Michelin stars. The chef had spent 10 years training in Milan, came back and brought Japanese sensibilities to Italian cuisine.

“The food was better than what we’d had in Italy,” Nathan says.

“And it cost a lot less than Italy or the US.”

Housing and rent are relatively low in Japan. You can live very well in Japan without spending much. So the real question isn’t “Which country pays more?” It’s “Which country gives me the life experience I want?”

Why Japan Right Now

Beyond salary and cost of living, Nathan sees several reasons why Japan makes sense right now for someone early in their career.

Japan is still one of the most sophisticated societies on the planet. 

Things work. Things work well. The quality of products and services from Japanese companies are among the best in the world. The Shinkansen, the public transportation system — they almost always run on time.

Yes, there are quirks — you have administrative paperwork that needs to be stamped by 10 different people in 10 different offices. It can be frustrating. But it’s also an opportunity for someone to come and digitalize all of those processes.

There’s huge opportunity for transformation. 

Japan was once one of the most innovative societies on the planet, and those companies are still around and still successful. But many have fallen into the trap of doing what they’ve always done. “Now, we’re in the 21st century,” Nathan notes. “They have to break the model.

That’s hard when the model has worked so well for so long, but it’s also critical for survival.”

The ways of working, management, leadership, manufacturing, customer engagement — all of these elements have changed. Partly because of digital, now because of AI, everything is different. The challenge is Japan’s risk-averse culture and figuring out how to get out of comfort zones to try new things, experiment, and take risks.

“People from outside Japan can bring that experimental mindset. It’s okay to try things and fail, just like Thomas Edison failed a thousand times before he built the working light bulb, or James Dyson built five thousand vacuum cleaners before he built the Dyson. That’s what a lot of Japanese companies need to remember how to do again.”

AI is unlocking new possibilities. 

Nathan sees AI as “the great unlock for fields like robotics in Japan.” Companies like Honda, Yamaha, and Toyota all have robotics divisions. Now that they have AI, their robotics are going to be next level.

There’s opportunity across all industries. It’s a domestic market first, but that’s a big market — 120 million people with very wide company reach. That’s a great opportunity for young people building their careers.

What You’re Actually Choosing Between

Nathan wants students to be clear about the real choice they’re making:

If you take the safe path:

• Higher starting salary

• Familiar culture

• Clear career progression (at least on paper)

• Staying in your comfort zone

If you take the Japan path:

• Lower starting salary but lower cost of living

• Constant challenge and growth

• Unique market positioning

• Discovery of what you’re actually good at

“Most people optimize for the first list,” Nathan observes. “They take the management consulting job or investment banking role because it looks good on paper. And then they’re miserable. Or they realize three years or thirty years in that they hate their life. But now they’re locked into a certain salary expectation and lifestyle, and it’s much harder to change.”

The alternative is trying lots of things until you find what clicks — finding your strengths and places where you can work on those strengths, rather than feeling like a fish being asked to climb a tree. “Trying lots of things is important in the early stages of your career,” Nathan emphasizes.

The “Nothing to Lose” Test

But what if it doesn’t work out? What if someone tries Japan and realizes it’s not for them?

“As a young person, you have nothing to lose. You can always go home. Or you can try somewhere else.”

Navigating Japan as a foreigner today is easier than it’s ever been. Train stations in major cities

cater to English-speaking, Chinese-speaking, and Korean-speaking visitors. There’s more infrastructure and support for foreigners than ever before. It’ll be easier than it was for Nathan 20 years ago.

Here’s Nathan’s test: What’s the worst thing that could happen?

You spend a year or two in Japan. You learn it’s not for you.

You go back to the US with:

• Fluency in navigating a completely different culture

• Experience working in the world's third-largest economy

• A global network you wouldn't have built otherwise

• Stories nobody else at your business school reunion will have

• Clarity about what you actually want (which most people never get)

“That’s not failure,” Nathan points out. “That’s an incredibly valuable learning experience.”

What’s Actually in Your Decision Matrix

If Nathan were creating a decision matrix for students weighing this choice, here’s what he’d include:

Things that matter less than you think:

• Starting salary numbers

• “Prestigious” company names

• Geographic proximity to family (in the age of video calls)

• Having everything figured out from day one

Things that matter more than you think:

• Quality of daily life

• Opportunities to discover your strengths through trial and error

• Working with people excited about what you bring

• Being challenged in ways that help you grow

• Building experiences that are uniquely yours

“If maximizing money early in your career is your priority, then Japan may not be the right place,” Nathan says honestly. “But if experience, quality of projects, and quality of life matter more to you than starting salary, Japan is an incredible place to build a career.”

The Real Choice

Ultimately, Nathan frames the decision around one question: Do you want the path that looks good on paper, or the path that might actually teach you who you are?

“Most 22-year-olds don’t know what they want to do with their lives,” Nathan reflects. “That’s totally normal. But a lot of them feel pressure to choose the ‘safe” path — consulting, banking, big tech — because that’s what everyone else is doing and it sounds impressive.”

The problem is that the safe path can be a honey trap. You get comfortable with the salary. You get used to a certain lifestyle. And three years later, when you realize you hate what you’re doing, it’s much harder to change course.

Japan offers a different equation: lower salary, higher learning curve, constant challenge, and the opportunity to discover what you’re actually good at through trying many different things. Not everyone wants that trade-off, and that’s okay.

But for those who do, Nathan’s message is clear: “It’s easier now than it’s ever been for foreigners in Japan. The infrastructure is there. The opportunities are there. The worst case is you come back in two years with incredible experiences and clarity about what you want. That’s not a bad worst case.”

Key Takeaways

• Salary isn’t everything:  Japan generally pays less than Silicon Valley, but the cost of living is also much lower, and quality of life is exceptional. The real question is what kind of life you want to build.

  
  

• Japan needs what you have:  Transformation, AI, digitalization — Japanese companies know they need to change and are actively looking for people who can bring fresh perspectives and experimental mindsets.

  
  

• You have nothing to lose:  The worst case scenario is you spend 1–2 years in Japan, learn it’s not for you, and return home with invaluable international experience and clarity about your career direction.

  
  

• Optimize for learning, not starting salary:  Your 20s are for figuring out what you enjoy, what you’re good at, and what the world needs. Japan offers more opportunity for trial, experimentation, and discovery than most traditional career paths.

  
  

• The infrastructure is there:  Japan is easier for foreigners now than ever before. Don’t let fear of the unknown stop you from exploring one of the world's most sophisticated economies.

Final Thoughts

Nathan’s 20-year journey in Japan wasn’t linear. He taught English, worked at a traditional Japanese ad agency, started his own design studio, co-founded a startup, joined Disney, moved to Los Angeles, returned to Tokyo, and joined IDEO. Each step taught him something new about what he was good at and what he enjoyed.

“I wouldn’t have discovered any of that if I’d stayed in my comfort zone. Moving to Japan forced me to grow in ways I never would have otherwise.”

For students considering working in Japan, Nathan’s advice is simple: If you’re curious, try it. The worst thing that happens is you learn something valuable about yourself. And the best thing that happens? You might just build the career of a lifetime.

This is Article 3 in a 3-part series on building your career in Japan as a foreigner.

(Editor: Jelper Club Operations Team)