Why Japanese Chefs Quit Abroad, and How to Keep Them

Bringing a chef from Japan takes visas, travel and housing, at a cost in money and time far beyond hiring at home. That is exactly why a resignation within the first year hurts so much, and the vacancy until the next hire is long.

This article first checks the level of turnover in restaurants using public statistics, then sets out why Japanese chefs abroad quit and what helps them stay at each stage. Note that we found no public statistic on why Japanese chefs working abroad leave. Read the section on reasons as an analysis of the structure of the situation, not as statistics.

1. Restaurant turnover in numbers

Japan

According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Survey on Employment Trends 2025 (令和7年雇用動向調査), the separation rate in accommodation and food services was 23.7% over 2025, well above the 13.7% for all industries. Even counting only regular workers, excluding part-timers, it was 21.5% (11.4% for all industries), the highest of any industry.

United States

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (JOLTS) annual average quits rate (monthly) in accommodation and food services is as follows.

Singapore

The Singapore Ministry of Manpower (MOM) average monthly turnover rate in food services was 2.9% in 2022, 2.6% in 2023, 2.3% in 2024 and 2.2% in 2025 (1.2% for all industries). Within food services, general staff turned over at 2.8% a month, against 1.2% a month for professionals and managers.

One more figure shows how chefs work in Japan. In the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare General Survey on Working Conditions 2025 (令和7年就労条件総合調査), the take-up rate of annual paid leave in 2024 was 50.7% in accommodation and food services, the lowest of all industries (66.9% overall). Chefs coming from Japan have probably worked in places where it is hard to take time off, so a restaurant abroad that makes sure staff actually take their days off stands out for that alone.

2. Why Japanese chefs abroad quit

Since there are no public statistics, here are the reasons that tend to arise from the structure of cross-border hiring. Use them as a checklist to see whether any apply to your restaurant.

1. It is not what they were told. The size of the restaurant, the format, the responsibilities, the hours, the housing. A gap between what was said at interview and reality leads to resignation faster than anything else.
2. They stumble setting up their life. Bank account, phone, housing, registering for tax and social insurance. They are worn out before they start work.
3. Isolation. No one at work to talk to in Japanese, no one to see on days off. Chefs work long hours and have little time to build relationships outside work.
4. A lack of ingredients and authority. They were brought in to cook Japanese food, but the ingredients they need do not arrive, or they have no say in the menu. Their pride as a craftsman takes a hit.
5. Money worries. Rising local prices, money sent home to Japan shrinking with exchange rate swings, no prospect of a raise.
6. No visible future. They do not know whether the visa can be renewed, whether there is a path to permanent residence, or what happens after a certain number of years.
7. Family circumstances. Caring for family in Japan, or accompanying family members failing to settle. The restaurant cannot fully prevent this, but home leave can ease it.

3. What the first 90 days decide

Before arrival

• Send photos of the housing, a map of the area and the commute.
• Send a schedule for the first two weeks (working days, paperwork days, days off).
• Decide who will go with them to do the local paperwork, and give them that person's name and contact details.
• Give them a checklist of procedures to do in Japan (notice of moving abroad for the resident register, residence notification, etc.). Details in Designing housing, travel and relocation allowances.

Weeks one and two

• Meet them at the airport. Do not put them to work on day one.
• Go with them to local registrations such as a bank account, phone and tax number.
• Explain the kitchen rules (hygiene standards, how ordering works, how local staff divide the work) before they step into the kitchen.

Days 30, 60 and 90

Make sure the owner or head chef sets aside time to talk one to one, even just 30 minutes. Ask three things. "Is anything different from what you were told?" "Is anything causing you trouble?" "Is there anything you would like to take on in the next month?" If problems surface while they are small, they can usually be solved.

4. Year one: preventing isolation and mismatched expectations

• Put the role in writing. Write down what they are responsible for (menu, buying, training staff) and what the owner decides. Agree it before arrival, and stick to it.
• Give them someone to talk to in Japanese. If they are the only Japanese person in the company, connect them with Japanese people at group restaurants or suppliers, or set up regular calls with head office in Japan.
• Protect days off. If you need them to work a day off in the busy season, fix the replacement day first, then ask.
• Make it clear who to ask about ingredients. Be clear about who to ask, and what can be bought, for imported Japanese ingredients and local substitutes.
• Create ways to recognise their skill. Give them the seasonal menu, or have them run training sessions for staff. Putting them in charge of helping local staff earn MAFF's cooking skills certification is another option.

5. Year two onward: can they see a future?

In their second year, chefs start asking themselves where staying on will lead in a few years. You need to have answers ready.

• Prospects for visa renewal and permanent residence. Find out what becomes possible after how many years of work under your country's visa system, and explain it to them. If there is a path, also tell them whether the company will support it.
• Steps in role and pay. Show them what they need to achieve, by when, to reach what pay.
• A link to the restaurant's future. Be specific about positions they can aim for, such as head chef at a second site or product development at head office.
• Respect the option of going back to Japan. For someone who wants to return in three years and open their own place, work out together a role that gets the most out of those three years and a plan for handing over to a successor. Sending them off on good terms does more for your reputation in the next hire than trying to hold on to them.

6. Systems that reduce money worries

• Make an annual pay review a formal system. Simply putting the timing and criteria in writing stops most dissatisfaction at the "I don't know when to raise it" stage.
• A flight home. A return flight once a year says "we want you to stay" more than the amount itself.
• Explain the exchange rate. Pay is in local currency as a rule, but explain at hiring that the amount they send home will change as the yen moves, and make sure they accept it.
• Allowances or bonuses tied to length of service. Payments at the one-year and two-year marks give people a reason to stay a little longer.

For a comparison of pay levels themselves, see Sushi chef and Japanese chef pay compared.

7. Plan for departures in advance too

Whatever you do, some people will leave. Designing things from the start so the restaurant is not left stranded is also part of retention.

• Record recipes and procedures in numbers. Reduce the number of flavours that only that chef can produce.
• Build training local staff into the role from the start. The ideal is a kitchen that keeps running even if one Japanese chef leaves.
• Always be preparing the next hire. An international hire takes several months from decision to arrival. If you start recruiting only after a vacancy opens, nothing fills the gap in between. How to build a hiring plan is covered in Staffing an overseas opening.
• Put the notice period and repatriation terms in the contract. How many days' notice, who pays the flight home, what happens to the visa.

How international turnover rates relate to hiring costs is covered in our hiring costs article, and also in Retaining Japanese chefs.

This article is general information, not legal, employment or immigration advice. Statistics are quoted as published by each body, with their reference periods. We found no public statistics on why Japanese chefs abroad leave, so that part is a practical analysis, not statistics.