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Japanese Resume Maker

履歴書・職務経歴書 Generator — Free, professional, instant PDF

✓ 6-Step Wizard✓ Japanese Era Dates✓ PDF Export✓ 3 Formats✓ Auto-Save
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Personal Information

個人情報 — Basic details for your resume

Choose your industry to pre-fill skill suggestions:

= 平成7年1月1日生

3cm
×4cm

証明写真 — ID Photo Guidelines

  • • 3cm × 4cm, taken within last 3 months
  • • Formal attire — suit or collared shirt
  • • Plain white/light blue background
  • • Photo booth at any コンビニ: ¥700–¥900
  • • Attach physical print with glue — don't print digitally

💡 Yamada Hack: Name Tips for Foreigners

  • • No kanji name? Write katakana: ジョン・スミス, then romaji
  • • Write SURNAME first, given name second (Japanese order)
  • • フリガナ = pronunciation in katakana — write it carefully!
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Japanese Resume FAQ

履歴書 (Rirekisho) is a standardized form covering personal info, education history, and certifications. 職務経歴書 (Shokumu Keirekisho) is a free-format document detailing job responsibilities and achievements. For most full-time jobs, you need BOTH. For part-time (アルバイト), 履歴書 alone is usually enough.
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How to Use the Japanese Resume Generator

  1. Fill in your personal information fields in English or Japanese — the tool automatically formats everything to the standard rirekisho layout, including proper placement of your name, address, date of birth, and contact details.
  2. Enter your education history starting from your most recent qualification, and the tool converts the dates into the Japanese calendar format (using both the Western year and the corresponding Japanese era year) automatically.
  3. Add your work experience entries with job titles, company names, and responsibilities — the tool formats these into the correct reverse-chronological Japanese style with appropriate section headers.
  4. Upload your photo and the tool crops and resizes it to the required 3×4 cm format with the correct background and framing standards expected on Japanese resumes.
  5. Select a rirekisho template and generate your final PDF, ready to print or email — you can also generate a shokumu keirekisho (detailed professional work history) from the same data with one additional click.

Why Submitting the Wrong Resume Format Kills Your Job Application in Japan

Japanese resumes follow a strict, highly standardized format that is fundamentally different from Western CVs. The rirekisho is not just a document — it is a signal of cultural understanding and attention to detail. It requires a specific table-based layout that most word processors cannot easily replicate, a precisely sized photograph in the upper left corner, dates written using the Japanese era year system (Reiwa, Heisei) alongside Western years, and fields for personal information including age, gender, and estimated commute time — information that would be inappropriate or even illegal on a resume in many Western countries.

Submitting a Western-format resume or a poorly formatted rirekisho to a Japanese company sends an immediate message: this candidate does not understand Japanese business culture. In a hiring process where first impressions and attention to detail are weighted heavily, your application goes straight to the rejection pile before anyone reads a single line of your qualifications. Even small errors — the wrong photo dimensions, missing fields, incorrect date notation, or using a non-standard template — can cost you an interview.

Many foreigners spend hours trying to manually recreate the rirekisho format in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, often buying expensive template books or hiring translation services just to submit a basic job application. This free tool removes that barrier entirely. You input your information in English or Japanese, and the tool handles every formatting detail automatically — producing a professional, properly structured rirekisho that meets Japanese employer expectations and lets your actual qualifications speak for themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

The Japanese rirekisho follows a rigid standardized format that differs fundamentally from Western CV conventions. It requires a formal photo in the top corner, lists all educational and work history chronologically from oldest to most recent, includes personal information such as date of birth, age, nationality, and nearest train station, and uses preprinted forms available at convenience stores. Unlike Western CVs, there is no personal summary, no skills section in a modern sense, and creative formatting is not welcome or expected.
Yes, a 3×4 centimeter formal photograph is a required component of every Japanese rirekisho. The photo must show a plain white or light blue background, be taken within the past 3 months, and show the applicant in business-appropriate attire. The most convenient and cost-effective way to get suitable resume photos in Japan is at a convenience store or train station photo booth (shashin ki), which produces correctly sized prints for approximately ¥800 in under 5 minutes.
Typed rirekisho are now the standard and widely accepted format across most industries and company sizes in Japan. Some traditional industries including finance, law, and long-established manufacturing companies maintain a cultural preference for handwritten resumes as a demonstration of effort and attention to detail. When the job posting does not specify a preference, typed is generally appropriate unless you have reason to believe the company is particularly traditional. When in doubt, contact the recruiter to ask.
The shokumu keirekisho is a detailed work history document that goes beyond the chronological listing in a rirekisho to describe the specific responsibilities, projects, achievements, and skills at each position you have held. It is expected for any mid-career job application (tenshoku) in Japan and should be tailored for each application. Unlike the rirekisho, the shokumu keirekisho has no fixed format, giving you flexibility to highlight achievements relevant to the specific role you are applying for.
The most common Japanese resume mistakes by foreigners include: omitting the required photo entirely, using Western-style date formats instead of Japanese year notation (either western YYYY/MM or the Japanese era year such as Reiwa 7), leaving unexplained gaps in the education or work history chronology, using a creative or non-standard rirekisho template instead of the standard preprinted format, and writing in casual rather than formal Japanese language for the motivation and self-PR sections.

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