Why young bankers in Japan are in high demand

On June 11, 2025, Bloomberg’s Big Take Asia podcast explored how Wall Street banks are pulling out all the stops to recruit Japan’s top finance talent.  

Bloomberg reporter Lisa Du joins podcast host K. Oanh Ha to reveal the bold tactics and growing challenges global firms face in this intensifying talent war. 

Key Takeaways

• A young Japanese graduate walks out of a high-pressure meeting with three managing directors - more convinced than ever to reject their lucrative offer.

• Global banks are flooding Japan with recruiters, bonuses, and lavish dinners in a scramble for elite talent.

• With unemployment at just 2.5%, Japan has become one of the hardest places in the world to hire finance professionals.

• Massive deals - like a $33 billion Toyota buyout and a $52 billion bid for 7&I Holdings - are pulling international capital back into Tokyo.

• Wall Street firms are boosting salaries by 10% a year to stay competitive.

• The most coveted candidates speak fluent Japanese and English, bridging two worlds with cultural fluency and technical skill.

• Banks are even trying to rehire their own retirees - veterans who remember what it was like to trade in an environment without negative interest rates.

• Japan’s deeply rooted corporate loyalty and cultural resistance to job-hopping are forcing global firms to play by local rules.

• Younger workers are turning down big money in favor of better balance, more meaning, and long-term growth over short-term prestige.

• Japan is in the middle of a financial renaissance - and global banks are racing against time to seize the moment.