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How to write a Japanese resume (rirekisho)
The rirekisho is a form, and the form is the same everywhere. You are not being assessed on layout or wording choices — you are being assessed on whether you filled it in the way everyone else does. That makes it easy once you know what each box is for.
Every field, with its English meaning
These are the boxes printed on the standard forms. The last four appear on the older JIS layout and not on the 2021 government sample. The same labels appear in the Sokureki builder, so you can keep this table open beside it.
| On the form | Meaning | What to write |
|---|---|---|
| ふりがな / フリガナfurigana | Phonetic reading of your name | Katakana is the usual choice for a non-Japanese name: ジョン・スミス for John Smith. If the form prints ふりがな in hiragana, write hiragana; if it prints フリガナ in katakana, write katakana. |
| 氏名shimei | Full name | Write it exactly as it appears on your residence card, in the same order. Latin letters are fine. Do not invent a Japanese name. |
| 生年月日seinengappi | Date of birth | |
| 年齢nenrei | Age | Your age on the date written at the top of the form, not today. |
| 性別seibetsu | Gender | The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's 2021 sample form made this a free-text box and it can be left blank. Older JIS forms print 男 / 女 to circle. |
| 現住所genjūsho | Current address | Japanese order: postcode, prefecture, city, block numbers, then building and room. Write the building name in full rather than abbreviating it. |
| 連絡先renrakusaki | Contact address | Only fill this in if post should go somewhere other than your current address. Otherwise write 同上 (dōjō, "same as above"). |
| 電話番号denwa bangō | Phone number | |
| メールアドレスmēru adoresu | Email address | Use an address you check daily. Carrier addresses (docomo, au, SoftBank) often block mail from company domains. |
| 写真shashin | ID photo | 40 × 30 mm, taken within the last three months, plain background, upper body facing forward. A photo is standard practice on a Japanese resume even though it is not required by law. |
| 学歴gakureki | Education history | Same table as work history, education first. One line for entry (入学 nyūgaku) and one for graduation (卒業 sotsugyō). Foreign schools: write the name in full and add the country. |
| 職歴shokureki | Work history | Starts one line below education, under the heading 職歴. One line for joining (入社 nyūsha) and one for leaving (退社 taisha), oldest first. |
| 免許・資格menkyo・shikaku | Licences and qualifications | Where the JLPT goes: 日本語能力試験N2 合格. Also driving licences and anything relevant to the job. Write the official name of the qualification. |
| 志望の動機shibō no dōki | Reason for applying | Usually 200–300 Japanese characters. Say why this company rather than why this industry. |
| 自己PRjiko PR | Self-promotion / personal statement | What you can do for them, with one concrete example from your work. Not a personality description. |
| 本人希望記入欄honnin kibō kinyūran | Requests from the applicant | Keep this almost empty. 貴社の規定に従います (kisha no kitei ni shitagaimasu, "I will follow your company's terms") is the normal entry. Salary and days off are discussed later, not here. |
| 通勤時間tsūkin jikan | Commuting time | Door to door from your current address, rounded up to 5 or 10 minutes. Only on older JIS forms. |
| 扶養家族数fuyō kazoku sū | Number of dependants | Excluding your spouse. Only on older JIS forms. |
| 配偶者haigūsha | Spouse (yes / no) | |
| 配偶者の扶養義務haigūsha no fuyō gimu | Obligation to support spouse (yes / no) |
Era years or Western years
Japanese forms accept either the Japanese era calendar (令和7年 for 2025) or Western years (2025). Neither is more correct. What matters is that you pick one and use it everywhere on the sheet: the date at the top, your date of birth, and every line of the education and work history.
Education and work history
Education and work share one table. Write 学歴 on its own centred line, list the schools, leave a blank line, write 職歴 on its own centred line, then list the employers. Both sections run oldest first.
- Schools take two lines each: 入学 (nyūgaku, entered) and 卒業 (sotsugyō, graduated). Most people start from high school.
- Employers take two lines each: 入社 (nyūsha, joined) and 退社 (taisha, left). Write the company's full registered name, not an abbreviation.
- Foreign schools and employers: write the name in full and add the country, for example University of Leeds (United Kingdom).
- Still employed? End the last line with 現在に至る (genzai ni itaru, "continuing to the present").
- Finish the whole table with 以上 (ijō) right-aligned on the next line. It marks the end of the list.
The two written sections
志望の動機 (why you are applying) and 自己PR (what you bring) are the only parts where you write freely, and both are short — roughly 200 to 300 Japanese characters, enough to fill the box without spilling over.
- For the reason for applying, name something specific to this company. A reason that would work for any company in the industry is the weakest thing you can write.
- For the self-promotion, give one example of something you did and what came of it. Numbers help. Adjectives about your personality do not.
- Write in plain polite Japanese (です・ます). Keigo mistakes are forgiven; vagueness is not.
- If writing these in Japanese is the part holding you up, the builder can draft both from your work history and let you edit them.
Status of residence
The standard forms have no field for your visa. Employers do have to confirm it before hiring, so many applicants add a line in the licences section or the requests box to save a round of questions — for example 在留資格：技術・人文知識・国際業務（2028年3月まで）. Write it if you are asked for it or if you expect the question; there is no obligation to volunteer it on the form itself.
Printing and sending
- A4, plain white paper. The form is two A4 pages, or one A3 sheet folded in half.
- By email: send one PDF containing both pages, named with the document and your name — 履歴書_John Smith.pdf. Send PDF rather than Word or Excel so the layout cannot shift.
- By post: use a 角形A4号 envelope so the sheets are not folded, put a covering letter (送付状) on top, and write 履歴書在中 in red on the front.
- No personal seal is needed on the current forms. If the form you were given still prints 印, use a name stamp.
Common mistakes
- Mixing era years and Western years on the same sheet.
- Leaving the photo box empty.
- Abbreviating company names — write the registered name including 株式会社.
- Asking about salary or days off in the requests box.
- Sending the rirekisho on its own when the role is mid-career and a shokumu keirekisho was expected.
- Correction fluid on a handwritten sheet. Start a fresh one instead.
Next
How to write a shokumu keirekisho
Download a blank form (Word, Excel, PDF)
Frequently asked questions