Exploring Skills, Knowledge and Competencies in Multicultural and Social Justice Career Consulting in Japan

Japan has a system that facilitates the entry of foreign human resources into the country and their subsequent ability to obtain residency. The process is much easier in Japan than in other countries. Japan wants to ensure the door is open not just for white-collar workers but also foreigners working as skilled blue-collar workers. This is to encourage more people to encourage a career in Japan and yet Japan needs to ensure that appropriate and adequate career support is available. Assistant Professor Rie Takanuma at the School of Entrepreneurial and Innovation Studies at Kanazawa University in Japan is conducting research geared towards moving away from the perception of Japan as a monoculture and instead opening the country up. She believes that in addition to the knowledge, skills and competencies discussed in multicultural counselling, it is important to have discussions from an ontological perspective that can serve as a foundation. Through this work Takanuma hopes to help open up a multicultural society and is also serving as a board member of the Association for International Talent Development in Japanese Corporations (AITD), which strives to realise a working style that maximises individual strengths. She believes that career guidance should extend beyond helping people to choose a career, to encompass helping them to choose a way of life. She and her collaborators are working to understand more about multicultural and social justice career consulting through interviews and surveys regarding the needs of Japanese students and international students. So far, the researchers have found that Japanese and international students have different interpretations of the word ‘career’, with Japanese students thinking about their life and career while Chinese international students consider their work and career.