Hiring a Japanese Chef for an Overseas Branch: Head Office Guide

When a Japanese head office or Japanese owner staffs an overseas branch, decide first whether to send a chef on secondment from Japan or have the local company hire directly. Secondment suits chefs who will return within a few years; a local hire suits chefs who will settle. In the US, Japanese ownership and time served in Japan can open E-2 or L-1. Prepare the Japanese documents early, and show pay against Japan's average of about ¥3.79 million.

1. Four ways to staff the branch

The choice changes which visas are open, whether Japanese social insurance continues, and how much work lands on head office.

Insurance, tax and dependants are compared in secondment versus local hire. Rough test: if the chef comes back, second them.

2. Visas where Japanese ownership or service in Japan helps

This advantage is mainly American. In Australia, Canada, Singapore and Malaysia the tests are occupation and salary; the nationality of the owner does not change them.

• E-2 (treaty investor): based on the US and Japan treaty in force since 30 October 1953. The business must be at least 50% owned by Japanese nationals, and the employee must share that nationality and work in a supervisory or executive role or have skills essential to the business. E-2 visas for Japanese nationals run up to 60 months with no reciprocity fee; the application fee is US$315. Check the embassy's guidance on how ownership through a parent company is counted.
• L-1 (intracompany transfer): for someone who has worked continuously for one year in the last three for a related company abroad. L-1A covers managers and executives (up to seven years in total), L-1B specialised knowledge (up to five). Whether a chef's skill counts as specialised knowledge is decided case by case; we found no general standard. See US visa options for restaurants.

3. Documents prepared in Japan

These are the papers issued in Japan. Most need the chef in person, so hand over the list with the offer.

Step by step guides: police certificate, employment and graduation certificates in English, cook licence in English, social security agreements.

4. The pay gap with Japan: what the chef compares

MHLW's 2025 wage survey puts food preparation workers at ¥286,600 a month plus ¥351,600 in annual bonus, about ¥3.79 million a year (average age 44.9, tenure 9.2 years). Men alone: about ¥4.33 million. The National Tax Agency puts average pay in accommodation and food services at ¥2.793 million, the lowest of any industry.

The gross gap looks large. What the chef actually weighs:

• Take home pay after local income tax, social insurance and rent.
• Bonus. The Japanese average includes about ¥350,000 of bonus. If your package has none, say so.
• Japanese pension. Seconded staff stay in the employees' pension; local hires can only choose voluntary national pension.
• What comes after: the post on return for a secondee, renewal or permanent residence for a local hire.

Structuring the package and handling exchange rates: pay design for chefs abroad. Market pay by country: sushi chef salary by country.

5. Rules when you recruit inside Japan

• State duties, pay, hours and place of work in the ad (Employment Security Act Art. 5-3); false or misleading ads are prohibited (Art. 5-4).
• If you use an agency, check its permit number on MHLW's human resources services site and ask whether it handles jobs abroad.
• Paying an outside individual to recruit for you is entrusted recruitment, which needs ministerial permission (Art. 36).

Costs and choice of channel: recruiting channels in Japan.

6. Head office schedule, back from the start date

Take your country's visa block from how to hire a Japanese chef and lay it over this table.

7. Terms memo to send the candidate

Chefs used to Japanese employment may assume anything unwritten is paid by the company. Send this before the formal offer.

8. What to do this week

1. Pick one of the four options for each candidate, and settle secondment or local hire.
2. For a US branch, test ownership and each candidate's service record against E-2 and L-1.
3. Send candidates the document list in section 3 and ask where they are registered and which prefecture issued their licence.
4. Fill in the terms memo, with the date of the exchange rate used.

General information, not legal, tax or immigration advice. The treatment in each case depends on the contract, how pay is made and the country of work. Check the primary sources below and take professional advice.