I am fluent in English (native level) and work entirely in Japanese at a Japanese company. I however have a job, live in Nagoya and am not ethnically Japanese.
I was also curious about the requirements saying that the applicant needs to be a developer, have large-scale data experience and be good with customers.
So you (the OP) need a native level english speaking Japanese person with design and programming abilities who can also manage large amounts of data and can also sell the product.
I wish I knew where that person lived!
But I agree with your overall point - native level in either language is not necessary but we are looking for someone who can deal with Japanese customers, code and communicate well with the rest of us. I'll update the docs.
> # have native-level Japanese fluency with polished business Japanese skills
Ray, you might find it necessary to soften those requirements. As you know, most Japanese hackers aren't nowhere near fluent in English. And by requiring "native-level" in Japanese you exclude all the foreign developers, even those who speak Japanese fluently or at "business level".
I work in a mixed environment (Japanese and foreigners) and we have both Japanese and foreign clients. We try to hire bilingual people but often it's not possible if we also want high technical skills. Even companies like Google Japan and Amazon Japan mention in their job ads that fluent English is not required! My suggestion is that you require fluency in one language and business level in the other.
By the way, I'd apply for the job anyway, but I don't have a lot of experience with web development.