What 株式会社YOLO JAPAN does

株式会社YOLO JAPAN is a privately held Osaka-based Japanese corporation, founded in December 2004 (originally as 株式会社aim) and rebranded in May 2018, that operates the largest registered foreign-resident platform in Japan. As of June 2026, the platform has accumulated more than 400,000 registered members spanning 246 countries and regions, and more than 4,000 Japanese client companies have used its recruitment services. The company's stated capital is 2.3 billion yen, with cumulative fundraising of 14.9 billion yen from strategic and institutional investors including Japan Post Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Gurunavi, Taisei Corporation, Nankai Electric Railway, Meiko Network Japan, JR West Innovation, and Tokyu Properties Holdings.

YOLO JAPAN operates an integrated suite of services built on a multilingual digital platform. The core product, YOLO WORK, is a job marketplace connecting Japanese employers with foreign residents, offering video self-introductions (しゃべれる履歴書), auto-translated messaging across Japanese, English, Chinese and other languages, auto-generated Japanese-format resumes in PDF, and a scout/sourcing function. Surrounding services extend the platform across the foreign-resident lifecycle: YOLO HOME (multilingual real estate listings, including 80,000 Leopalace21 properties), YOLO MOBILE (SIM cards), YOLO DRIVE (driving license support), YOLO Card (prepaid card), YOLO akademia (pre-employment training), YOLO English Camp (corporate English training), YOLO SURVEY (market research using registered foreign members), and 外国人行列ラボ / Gaikokujin Gyouretsu Lab (word-of-mouth marketing service for inbound-focused businesses). The company holds a paid employment placement business license (27-ユ-300926) and is registered as a Registered Support Organization (19登-002476) under Japan's immigration framework.

The business model combines a success-fee recruitment placement service (100% of the candidate's first-year annual salary as stated in the offer/employment condition document, with a tiered refund policy of 50%/30%/10% within 30/60/90 days), a monthly subscription listing plan, and project-based fees from word-of-mouth marketing and survey services. YOLO JAPAN distributes through self-service digital channels, inside sales with dedicated foreign recruitment consultants, an agency/reseller partner network, and strategic B2B partnerships with Shinkin Central Bank, Leopalace21, Orient Corporation, LeTech, and Japan Post Capital. The customer base spans Japanese SMBs to enterprises across food service, hospitality, cleaning, transportation, retail, and entertainment — all industries facing acute labor shortages. The company is led by founder and Representative Director 加地太祐 (Daisuke Kaji), with CTO 田端孝至 (Takashi Tabata) overseeing platform development since 2016.

Name

株式会社YOLO JAPAN

Legal name

株式会社YOLO JAPAN

Website

https://yolo-japan.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

YOLO JAPAN operates Japan's largest foreign-resident platform, connecting 400,000+ registered members from 246 countries with Japanese employers via YOLO WORK and providing housing, SIM, surveys, financial services, and word-of-mouth marketing tools for foreign residents across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Osaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. 職業紹介の手数料 (Placement Fee / Success Commission): YOLO WORK operates on a success-fee basis. Employers pay a one-time placement fee upon successful hiring. The fee is calculated as 100% of the candidate's annual salary (as stated in the offer letter or employment condition notification). The company also offers a refund policy: 50% refund for resignation within 30 days, 30% within 60 days, 10% within 90 days of employment start.
2. 外国人行列ラボ (Word-of-Mouth Marketing Service): A new marketing service where foreign residents experience a business's products or services and post reviews on social media. Revenue is generated through project-based service fees for businesses seeking inbound tourist and foreign-resident word-of-mouth promotion.
3. YOLO SURVEY (Market Survey Service): Foreign residents registered on the platform conduct market research surveys for companies, generating revenue through survey project fees charged to corporate clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

YOLO JAPAN operates a multilingual digital media platform and job marketplace connecting Japan's 400,000+ registered foreign residents across 246 countries/regions with Japanese employers. The core service YOLO WORK provides foreign resident recruitment through job postings, candidate matching, and auto-translation tools, with employers paying success fees. The company also offers a word-of-mouth marketing service (外国人行列ラボ), market surveys (YOLO SURVEY), multilingual real estate listings (YOLO HOME), SIM cards (YOLO MOBILE), and additional lifestyle services for foreign residents in Japan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ヨロワーク (YOLO WORK): Foreign-resident job posting and recruitment service connecting Japanese companies with foreign workers in Japan. Offers job listings, candidate matching, and a success-fee model.
• 外国人行列ラボ (Gaikokujin Gyoretsu Labo)
• YOLO HOME
• YOLO MOBILE
• YOLO DRIVE
• YOLO SURVEY
• YOLO BASE
• YOLO English Camp
• YOLO akademia
• YOLO Card
• YOLO AGENT

Products and services

• YOLO WORK (ヨロワーク) Foreign-resident job posting and recruitment service connecting Japanese companies with foreign workers in Japan. Offers job listings, candidate matching, video self-introductions, auto-translated messaging, and auto-generated Japanese-format resumes. Employers pay success fees or subscription listing fees.
• Gaikokujin Gyoretsu Labo (外国人行列ラボ) Word-of-mouth marketing service where foreign residents experience businesses (restaurants, hotels, retail) and post reviews on social media, creating inbound-focused word-of-mouth marketing for Japanese businesses targeting foreign tourists and residents.
• YOLO SURVEY Market survey service conducted by foreign residents and international students in Japan. Companies hire registered foreign members to complete survey-based market research, generating revenue through survey project fees.
• YOLO HOME Multilingual real estate information site for foreign residents in Japan, listing rental apartments, mansions, and houses. Integrates with Leopalace21's 80,000+ available rental units accepting foreign tenants.
• YOLO MOBILE SIM card service for foreign residents in Japan, providing mobile telecommunications services to the foreign resident population.
• YOLO DRIVE Driving license acquisition assistance service for foreigners, helping foreign residents navigate the Japanese driver's license process.
• YOLO English Camp Domestic study-abroad and corporate training program offering overseas-style English experiences with foreign instructors, targeting Japanese students and corporate trainees.
• YOLO akademia Pre-employment training and business manner education service for foreign workers to improve retention at Japanese companies.
• YOLO Card Prepaid card with deferred payment function for foreign residents in Japan, addressing financial service access for the foreign population.
• Residence Status Change/Renewal Application Service (在留資格変更・更新取次サービス) Service assisting foreign workers with residence status change and renewal procedures in Japan, providing one-stop administrative support alongside employment services.
• YOLO MEDICAL Multilingual medical support service for foreign residents in Japan, addressing healthcare access barriers.
• YOLO AGENT Global-company-oriented immediate-talent recruitment and placement service for bilingual professionals, targeting companies seeking bilingual staff.

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered regional, core and major.

• 大阪市浪速区役所 (Osaka City Naniwa Ward Office)regionalOthers · 1 May 2025Partnership agreement signed in April 2021 with Naniwa Ward to promote multicultural coexistence awareness, regional welfare, community building, and disaster preparedness cooperation for foreign residents in the ward.
• 株式会社レオパレス21 (Leopalace21 Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Leopalace21, a major rental property management company, partnered with YOLO JAPAN to expand available housing listings for foreign residents. Approximately 80,000 Leopalace21 properties that accept foreign tenants are now searchable on YOLO HOME. Leopalace21 provides multilingual support (English and 4 other languages), enabling foreign residents to more easily find furnished apartments nationwide. The partnership addresses the challenge of foreign residents being rejected for housing due to nationality.
• 株式会社オリエントコーポレーション (Orient Corporation / Oriko)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024YOLO JAPAN entered a capital and business partnership with Orient Corporation (Oriko), a major financial services company. The partnership aims to provide financial guarantee and scoring services tailored for the foreign resident segment. Specifically, the companies plan to develop financial guarantee products for housing contracts and scoring/business services targeting the 290,000+ foreign users on YOLO JAPAN's platform. A prior sales partnership was established in February 2024 for the YOLO WORK recruitment service.
• 株式会社LeTechmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2024LeTech, a real estate tech company with over 100 low-rise RC compact mansion developments, partnered with YOLO JAPAN to develop housing-related services for foreign workers. YOLO JAPAN contributes its foreign resident market knowledge and tenant-matching capabilities while LeTech handles property development and operations. The goal is to create foreigner-friendly apartment specifications and matching services for the 290,000+ YOLO JAPAN members.
• 大阪市生野区役所 (Osaka City Ikuno Ward Office)regionalOthers · 1 May 2024YOLO JAPAN and Osaka City Ikuno Ward entered a comprehensive partnership agreement to strengthen foreign resident support. The ward has a large foreign population. Cooperation areas include multicultural coexistence promotion, foreign resident information dissemination, community support, employment assistance, regional activation, children's education, and ward PR. The partnership leverages YOLO JAPAN's platform and Ikuno Ward's local government network.
• 信金中央金庫 (Shinkin Central Bank)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 March 2024Shinkin Central Bank partnered with YOLO JAPAN to help regional SMEs address labor shortages through foreign hiring. Shinkin Central Bank refers its member credit unions' SME clients to YOLO WORK, expanding YOLO JAPAN's distribution reach into regional Japan. The partnership targets companies struggling with the '2024 problem' (construction, logistics, healthcare labor crunch) and upcoming skilled trainee system reforms.
• 大阪市 (Osaka City Government)regionalOthers · 1 September 2021Business partnership agreement with Osaka City for multicultural coexistence promotion through needs surveys and information dissemination for foreign residents. YOLO HOME was subsequently launched to provide multilingual housing listings.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Wantedly: Japanese tech and startup-focused recruitment platform with mission-driven employer profiles. Comparable as a domestic hiring marketplace, overlapping in employer customers seeking multilingual staff and company-culture fit.
• Bizreach: Mid-career and white-collar recruitment platform serving Japanese enterprises. Comparable in serving enterprise HR teams with hiring needs, though focused on Japanese professionals rather than the foreign-resident niche.
• Indeed Japan: Japan's largest generalist job search engine, owned by Recruit. Comparable as a primary destination for Japanese employer job postings, though it serves all worker categories and lacks YOLO JAPAN's specialized foreign-resident pre-screening.
• Recruit Holdings: Japan's largest recruitment conglomerate, operating Indeed Japan, Rikunabi, and broader HR services. Comparable as the dominant incumbent in Japanese recruitment, though it operates across all worker categories rather than specializing in foreign residents.

Direct peers

• WeXpats Jobs: Japan-based job board targeted at foreign professionals and students seeking work in Japan. Comparable product, target audience, and use cases to YOLO WORK, including multilingual listings and resume support.
• GaijinPot: Long-running English-language job board and information platform for foreign residents in Japan. Directly comparable as a foreign-focused employment marketplace serving the same candidate pool and employer base as YOLO WORK.
• Daijob: Specialized bilingual (Japanese-English) recruitment platform for global talent in Japan. Directly comparable for high-skill foreign hiring and bilingual professional matching, with overlap in employer customer base.

Emerging players

• Jobs in Japan (japan-dev.com): English-language job board targeting foreign developers seeking tech roles in Japan. Comparable in serving the same foreign-resident professional pool with similar use cases, though narrower scope in industry verticals.
• TokyoDev: English-language job board focused on tech and engineering roles for foreign developers in Japan. Comparable niche overlap with YOLO WORK for foreign-resident tech hiring, though narrower industry focus.

Others

• Leverages: Japanese staffing and recruitment services firm focused on global talent and bilingual professionals. Comparable as an ecosystem participant in foreign-worker hiring, with adjacent services in interpretation and staffing rather than a marketplace model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/yolojapanco
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCuhX64viJ-gLZ8TEFv4M39Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/YOLOJAPANCORPORATION
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%E6%A0%AA%E5%BC%8F%E4%BC%9A%E7%A4%BEyolo-japan

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

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 株式会社YOLO JAPAN