Entry Paths into Japan — HENNGE, Mercari, METI JIP

Entry Paths into Japan

The 卒 (sotsu) taxonomy — why half the postings are closed

Japanese new-grad hiring labels cohorts by graduation year, not class number:

26卒  graduate Mar 2026, join Apr 2026   ← Ebot graduated 2026
27卒  graduate Mar 2027, join Apr 2027
28卒  graduate Mar 2028, join Apr 2028
29卒  graduate Mar 2029, join Apr 2029

Three candidate buckets:

Bucket	Definition	Ebot?
新卒 (shinsotsu)	Currently enrolled, graduating this year	✗ not enrolled
既卒 (kisotsu)	Graduated, no full-time employment, within 3 years	✓ this is Ebot (until Mar 2029)
第二新卒 (dai-ni-shinsotsu)	Graduated AND worked full-time 1–3 years	✗ part-time/independent only

既卒 status is a recommendation, not a right. MHLW guideline (雇用対策法 §7/§9, 青少年雇用機会確保指針) asks employers to accept graduates within 3 years into 新卒 slots — ~70% of companies do. Not mandatory.

Practical consequence: student internship programs are mostly closed. Postings requiring 「在籍していること」 (currently enrolled) are out. Look instead for 既卒可 / 既卒歓迎, and for 中途採用 / ポテンシャル採用 (potential-based mid-career).

Verdicts on the three programs

Program	Open to a 2026 graduate?	Pay	Timing
HENNGE GIP	✓ yes — “recent graduates are welcome to apply”, “pursuing or holding a degree”	¥150k/mo subsidy + airfare + insurance + visa	Rolling; batches 2027
Mercari Security Engineer Internship	✗ no — requires 「在籍していること」(currently enrolled)	paid	closed to Ebot
METI Japan Internship Program	✓ yes — “current student or a graduate”	¥3,000/day + housing + utilities paid	FY2026 closed 30 Jun 2026; next ~May 2027

Mercari 28卒 security internship: https://apply.workable.com/mercari/j/50B095B785/ — role includes penetration testing, AppSec, threat modeling, AI security. Great fit on skills, wrong on enrollment. Also: the SE internship’s 第二新卒 clause needs full-time experience, which Ebot lacks.

METI JIP (https://www.internshipprogram.go.jp/english/intern/) accepts graduates but requires a recommendation letter from a UGM faculty member — line this up before the ~May 2027 window. Hosts are SMEs, matched by the Office, so security specialisation isn’t guaranteed.

HENNGE — the best open door

Full-Stack Pathway  https://recruit.hennge.com/en/gip/     ← authoritative, register here
Front-End Pathway   https://recruit.hennge.com/en/gip/     ← same page, choose pathway on registration
Coding challenge    https://challenge.hennge.com/
Front-End entry code  https://challenge.hennge.com/?entry-code=GIPFE-HENNGEWEBPAGE
Cover-letter guide  https://hennge.com/global/info/henka/interview/202403-crafting-the-perfect-cover-letter/

Apply on HENNGE’s own site, not a job board. Japan Dev’s APPLY button is a JS redirect to HENNGE’s ATS — it works, but the aggregator copy goes stale and you lose the direct-source signal. Use job boards for discovery only.

Correction: hrmos.co/pages/hennge/jobs returns 404 — HENNGE moved to recruit.hennge.com.

Program length: 4–6 weeks, Mon–Fri 10:00–19:00 JST (per HENNGE’s own page; the aggregator implied 5–7).

All applicants must choose at least one pathway. Applying to both requires two separate applications with different email addresses for the coding challenge. Pathways cannot be changed once enrolled.

Conversion is explicit: “While the program is unpaid, we provide comprehensive subsidies, and outstanding participants may be offered full-time employment opportunities.” It also states the training includes hands-on work with AWS.

Batches (verify — Japan Dev mirror is stale):

Batch	Dates	Length
Full-Stack Batch 1 (2027)	Jan 18 – Feb 19	5 weeks
Full-Stack Batch 2 (2027)	Jun 1 – Jul 16	7 weeks ← preferred
Front-End Batch 5 (2026)	Nov 16 – Dec 18	5 weeks

Program structure: weeks 1–4 app development project, week 5 DevOps & infrastructure. New-grad hires do a longer 6–8 week version inside the hiring pipeline.

Benefits: round-trip airfare, pre-arrival/visa support, medical insurance, phone + data, up to ¥150,000/month subsidy covering accommodation/meals/transport, learning platform, subsidised events. Unpaid in the employment sense — but subsidy exceeds Tokyo living costs (~¥100–135k/mo), so it’s cash-positive.

Requirements:

Required	Ebot
3rd-year undergrad or higher; recent graduates welcome	✓
CS degree or equivalent (bootcamp/internship)	✓ UGM CS
Python, Go, or React/Vue TS	✓
Linux/Unix knowledge	✓✓
English fluency (Japanese not required)	⚠ needs proof
Open source / tech community interest	✓ obscura PRs, Typst Universe package

“At least 3 of 5”:

Item	Ebot
Cloud platforms, especially AWS	✓ AWS CCP + GCP hands-on
Full-stack web development	✓ Berswara (Next.js), dislexia
Distributed systems	✓ capstone architecture (DB + storage + compute + registry)
DevOps (CI/CD, IaC)	✓✓ CI/CD + Terraform
Container tech (Docker)	✓ + Artifact Registry

Clears all five, not three.

The anti-AI rule — the one real behavioural risk

“We ask you not to use AI tools to generate code for training assignments or solution implementations. The code you submit should be written by you and reflect your own understanding.”

AI use is permitted only for non-code-generating help (concept clarification, docs, CLI flags). Interview probes reasoning, trade-offs, and design decisions.

Implication: practice writing a non-trivial project by hand before the (untimed) coding challenge. Do not lead with the agent-tooling stack in this application — save that for Money Forward / Mercari, where AI tooling is a preferred skill.

Gap list

1. Passport                M-Paspor app, 10-yr e-paspor Rp950k, ~4 working days.
                           Not needed to apply; needed the moment an offer lands (COE).
2. English proof           "English: Fluent" needed. Free EnglishScore test first
                           (A2–C1, 40 min, Professional Cert US$24.99, no expiry).
                           IELTS Rp3.49M / TOEIC Public Rp600-750k as fallback.
3. Hand-written practice   Rehearse for the untimed coding challenge + live explanation.
4. AWS hands-on            Real gap. GCP Terraform transfers, but their stack is
                           "mainly AWS with GCP as well". Deploy ONE real thing.

Closed as “not actually gaps” (both were CV omissions):

✗ "Learn Terraform"   → sole author of a GCP Terraform codebase (18 commits)
✗ "Learn Next.js"     → primary author of Berswara (190 commits vs 15 next)

Apply sequence

□ M-Paspor passport application
□ Free EnglishScore test → learn real CEFR level
□ One AWS deployment (Terraform, so it doubles as IaC proof)
□ Hand-written project as challenge rehearsal
□ Register on recruit.hennge.com/en/gip/ — verify current batches
□ Full-Stack pathway. Challenge by hand. CV + tailored cover letter.
□ If rejected: their reapply lockout is 9–12 months — one shot matters.

Process: coding challenge (no time limit) → HR interview → final interview. Apply early; slots are limited, first-come-first-served, and close when full.

HENNGE cover-letter guide: https://hennge.com/global/info/henka/interview/202403-crafting-the-perfect-cover-letter/

Why HENNGE fits: cloud security company, English-first, AWS + GCP stack, Python/Go back-ends, DevOps week in the program, visa + relocation support, and new-grad salary ¥5M–12M. The GIP is the front door to a full-time role, not a dead end.