Izanau

What Izanau does

Izanau is a Tokyo-based, privately-held online recruitment marketplace operated by Another Discovery Inc. (Another Discovery株式会社) that connects international job seekers with Japanese employers across verticals beyond traditional English-teaching roles, including gaming, IT and IoT engineering, media, and hospitality. The platform is bilingual (English/Japanese) and holds a Japanese paid employment agency license (有料職業紹介事業許可番号: 27-ユ-304078), enabling it to charge employers for placement services while providing job seekers with free registration and search. The company's product surface consists of a core job-board marketplace, a candidate-matching and scouting service that lets employers actively source from a pool spanning more than 90 countries, an editorial article library covering workplace culture, visa procedures, and life in Japan, and a Partner Program that allows third-party recruitment agencies and consultants to leverage the talent pool.

Name

Izanau

Legal name

Another Discovery株式会社 (Another Discovery Inc.)

Website

https://izanau.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Izanau, operated by Another Discovery Inc., is a bilingual Japanese job board that connects international professionals across 90+ countries with Japanese employers, monetizing through employer recruitment fees and a partner program while offering candidates free access.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Recruitment Platform

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361)

akta.pro primary industry

Remote & Global/Multilingual Direct Hire (BPACAFAO)

akta.pro secondary industry

Career & Employability Integration Support (Work Culture, Networking, Job Readiness) (EDAIAKAH)

Keywords

• Foreign talent recruitment
• Japan job board
• Bilingual job platform
• International recruitment services
• Employment placement services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations

Revenue model

1. Employer Recruitment Services: IZANAU operates as a licensed employment agency (有料職業紹介) in Japan. They charge Japanese companies for recruitment and placement services of foreign talent. The platform facilitates job postings, candidate matching, and hiring services for employers seeking international professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Izanau operates a bilingual (English/Japanese) online job board marketplace that connects international professionals with Japanese companies across full-time, part-time, freelance, and contract roles. The company is also a licensed paid employment agency in Japan (有料職業紹介事業許可番号 27-ユ-304078), charging Japanese companies for recruitment and placement services of foreign talent. Free for job seekers and paid for employers, Izanau supplements its marketplace with a content library on working in Japan and a partner program for recruitment agencies.

Product overview

IZANAU operates as a unified bilingual (English/Japanese) job marketplace and career resource platform that connects international professionals seeking employment in Japan with Japanese companies looking to hire foreign talent. The core product is the job matching platform, supplemented by editorial article content covering workplace culture and practical living guidance, and a partner program for recruitment agencies. The platform supports job seekers from registration through profile creation to direct employer communication, while enabling companies to access a multinational candidate database.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IZANAU Job Platform A bilingual (English/Japanese) job board marketplace connecting international professionals with Japanese companies, featuring job listings, candidate profiles, employer accounts, and direct messaging functionality for recruitment. Free for job seekers; Japanese employers pay for recruitment and placement services.
• IZANAU Partner Program (Recruitment Agency Channel) A structured recruitment-agency partnership program that gives partner agencies and individual headhunters access to Izanau's pool of international candidates (90+ countries) for placement with Japanese companies. Partners onboard via application, contract signing, and business development support.
• Candidate Matching & Scouting Service A paid talent-matching and scouting service for Japanese companies to search and recruit from Izanau's registered pool of international candidates from 90+ countries, including visa sponsorship assistance.

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Recruitment Agencies (Partner Program)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorIZANAU Partner Program allows recruitment agencies and individual headhunters to access IZANAU's foreign talent database and placement services. Partners follow a structured onboarding process including application, contract signing, and business development support.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Robert Walters Japan: Robert Walters Japan is the local arm of a global recruitment firm placing mid-to-senior professionals into Japanese employers, including foreign-language specialists. Comparable to Izanau at the higher-salary end of international placements though operating as part of a much broader global portfolio.
• LinkedIn (Japan): LinkedIn is the dominant global professional network and a major source of inbound hiring for Japanese employers seeking foreign talent, including via OAuth integration into Izanau's own sign-in flow. It is a broad incumbent whose job listings and Recruiter product overlap meaningfully with Izanau's employer-side value prop.
• Pasona Inc. Pasona is one of Japan's largest general staffing and HR services firms, operating across permanent placement, temporary staffing, and BPO. While broader than Izanau, it competes for the same Japanese employer budgets and has a dedicated foreign-talent practice that overlaps with Izanau's value proposition.

Direct peers

• Jobs in Japan: Jobs in Japan is a longstanding English-language job board advertising positions across Japan for foreign candidates. Closely overlaps with Izanau's core job-board function and serves a near-identical persona (international professionals seeking Japan-based employment).
• WeXpats Jobs: WeXpats provides a job listing and life-in-Japan resource platform aimed at foreign nationals working or studying in Japan. Directly comparable to Izanau's combined job-board-plus-guides offering and overlaps in the international student segment.
• CareerCross: CareerCross is a bilingual recruitment platform focused on matching global professionals with Japanese employers, particularly in business, IT, and finance roles. Direct overlap with Izanau's permanent placement and global/multilingual hiring positioning.
• TokyoDev: TokyoDev is a curated job board for tech professionals seeking Japan-based roles, with strong editorial content around working in Japan's tech industry. Highly comparable to Izanau in targeting foreign professionals entering the Japanese workforce, with overlap in content marketing strategy.
• GaijinPot: GaijinPot is one of the longest-running Japan-focused job boards for foreign professionals, listing full-time, part-time, and contract roles across industries. Most directly comparable to Izanau in mission — connecting non-Japanese candidates with Japanese employers — and operates in the same Japan-only niche.
• Japan Dev: Japan Dev is a job board and community focused specifically on engineering and developer roles in Japan for international candidates. While narrower than Izanau (IT-only), it competes head-to-head in the tech/engineering foreign-talent segment that Izanau also serves.
• Daijob.com: Daijob is a Tokyo-headquartered bilingual (English/Japanese) job board specializing in placement of multilingual professionals into Japanese companies. It is one of the largest dedicated players in Izanau's exact niche and is directly comparable in target market, business model, and product surface.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Izanau
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/groups/9334196
• TikToktiktok.com/@izanau_jobsinjapan
• Xx.com/IzanauJapan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Izanau