From Pakistan to Shibuya:
Exploring Careers in Japan with IoBM

Plus W visited IoBM on December 5, 2022. On April 14, 2025, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to collaborate on IT skills development, Japanese language and cultural exchange, and broader career opportunities, among other initiatives. Building on these exchanges and our partnership, we were pleased to welcome the IoBM delegation to Japan.

At the start of the session, Executive Vice President Takashi Horiuchi introduced Plus W’s business and our work connecting Japan and Pakistan.Umair, also joined online from Pakistan to greet the delegation.

Horiuchi described how we work with universities and government agencies to create learning opportunities and connect them with employment. He also explained how our support continues after people arrive in Japan: alongside work-related advice, we help them build social connections through friendships and activities outside work. Creating an environment in which people starting a career abroad can settle into daily life and contribute with confidence is an important part of Plus W’s role.

Tsuchiya, Head of IT Development, introduced examples of AI development and discussed communication when working with clients.

For example, while an engineer may explain an implementation in detail, a client may want to understand how the feature will improve their operations. Documents, videos and a of options can help bridge gaps in understanding caused by technical terminology or different perspectives. Tsuchiya shared practical ways to make technology useful in real work.

Participants also asked about opportunities to apply their experience in project management, technical sales and business development. The discussion explored how technical expertise and business experience can complement each other, reflecting the participants’ varied interests and backgrounds.

The next speaker was Abdul Ahad, an engineer from Pakistan. He joined Plus W in 2023 and worked in Nagasaki before moving to his current development role in Tokyo.

Ahad spoke about what first sparked his interest in Japan, his work after arriving, and the process of adjusting to everyday life.

His work experience included developing AI for baking baumkuchen, a layered cake. Beyond building image-based models, he described visiting the factory and speaking with the people involved in production to understand the judgments required on site.

A participant researching speech emotion recognition for a graduation project asked about training data and model validation. Ahad responded by discussing images collected in the actual production environment and his interactions with the people working there. It was a moment when university research and development work in industry came together around concrete challenges.

On daily life, he described the support he received with airport pickup, housing arrangements and shopping after arriving in Japan. In response to a question about learning Japanese, he discussed trying out the language in everyday conversations as well as studying it in class.

What technologies will you use? How will you communicate with colleagues? How will you settle into a new place? Ahad’s experiences offered a view of working in Japan from several different angles.

The session also featured a video message from IoBM graduate Taimoor Khan.

Taimoor began training in 2023 while still a student. After an internship, he joined Plus W as a software engineer. He now works from Pakistan, collaborating with the team in Japan on development projects.

His story showed how a graduate of the same university had progressed from training to professional work. It also illustrated that working with Japanese companies can mean contributing to projects from Pakistan as well as moving to Japan. His experience offered a different career path from Ahad’s.

To close the session, Plus W advisor Kimihide Ando spoke from his many years of experience, including his time in Pakistan with Mitsubishi Corporation. Ando, who has helped sustain our relationship with IoBM, discussed the attention to punctuality and quality in Japanese workplaces and other considerations when working across cultures.

Alongside technical and language skills, he emphasized understanding how the people you work with approach their jobs. Drawing on his experience in both Japan and Pakistan, he shared these perspectives with participants considering work with Japanese companies. Representatives from IoBM also offered remarks, followed by an exchange of commemorative gifts and group photographs.

Juveria Baig, Head of Internship, Placement & International Office at IoBM, presented us with a commemorative plaque.

There were also relaxed moments around the table as Nabhan Shah Karim, IoBM’s Head of Marketing and Communications, and Juveria Baig chatted with Horiuchi and Ando. Beyond the presentations and Q&A, the visit gave us time to meet and talk in person.

The questions raised were practical and relevant to participants’ next steps: how to validate AI models, which roles could make use of their experience, and how to learn Japanese. For us, it was also a chance to hear directly what they hoped for from working in Japan and what they wanted to understand better.

Through the relationship that began with our visit to IoBM in 2022, students who took part in training have gone on to work with our team in Japan and share their experiences with the next generation of students. We will continue to value these connections and expand opportunities for people in Japan and Pakistan to work together.

Thank you to everyone from IoBM for visiting us.