Frequently asked questions

Six Sigma Talent offers three modular recruiting engagements in Japan:

• Executive Search (retainer) — confidential, exclusive search for C-suite and mission-critical leadership
• Recruitment Process Outsourcing (RPO) — dedicated embedded team, ¥500K–1M per month
• Agency / Contingency — 35–40% placement fee, paid only on successful hire

All engagements are led by senior bilingual specialists, with no junior staff assigned to client accounts.

We serve three primary audiences:

• International companies entering or scaling in Japan
• Japanese enterprises hiring bilingual executives or scaling new business units (新規事業)
• Venture capital and CVC firms supporting portfolio company hiring

Our track record: 432+ placements across 229+ companies, including 13+ successful Japan market entries.

Three key differentiators:

• 100% senior bilingual team — no junior staff assigned to client accounts
• Lean Six Sigma methodology — we built our firm to eliminate waste in the recruitment process
• Three modular engagement types — use individually or combine as needed; switch models as your situation evolves

Six Sigma Talent K.K. is based in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. We operate across all of Japan and work with clients globally.

Pricing depends on the engagement type:

• Executive Search — retainer + success fee, based on target annual salary
• RPO — ¥500,000 to ¥1,000,000 per month, based on hiring volume and scope
• Agency / Contingency — 35–40% of annual salary, paid only on successful hire

See our Pricing page for more detail.

Our average lead time for executive-level searches is approximately 3 weeks from engagement kickoff to candidate shortlist. Time-to-offer depends on your interview process.

For retained executive search, we guarantee a set number of deliverables and prioritize retained work above other searches.

The engagement starts with a 30-minute discovery call where we listen to your goals and challenges. We then design a custom proposal with the right engagement model. Upon sign-off, your dedicated senior consultant is assigned and work begins.

Contact us to schedule a discovery call.

Yes. Confidentiality is core to our Executive Search engagement. Retained searches are exclusive to your project — candidates are only presented to you, with confidential client identity when required. This is particularly common for CEO replacements, CFO hires during sensitive financial transitions, and M&A-adjacent roles.

We place leadership and specialist roles across functions:

• C-suite: CEO, CFO, CTO, CPO, CIO, Country Manager
• Commercial leadership: VP Sales, Marketing, Revenue, Partnerships
• Corporate leadership: VP HR, Finance, Legal, Operations
• Digital leadership: VP Engineering, Product, Data, Platform
• Specialist engineering: Product, Platform, AI/ML, Infrastructure
• Venture capital roles: Partner, Principal, Investment Associate, Platform

Our team has deep expertise in:

• Technology: SaaS, AI/ML, fintech, autonomous driving, payments
• Financial services: banking, insurance, venture capital, private equity
• Consumer: digital commerce, lifestyle brands, beauty-tech
• Enterprise: consulting, professional services

We work across both startup and enterprise segments.

Yes. Our primary specialty is bilingual talent — candidates with strong business-level Japanese paired with business or native-level English.

Our team also includes trilingual specialists covering Japanese, English, Korean, and Vietnamese. For roles that require additional languages, we work with clients to calibrate the language bar.

432+ successful candidate placements across 229+ companies, including 13+ successful Japan market entries.

Notable client outcomes:

• SoftBank Vision Fund — sole international search partner for Fund 1 & 2
• PatSnap — 100% of Japan leadership team placed, 90–110%+ YoY revenue growth three years running
• Wayve — 80+ employees in 7 months (Japan market entry)
• Degica / KOMOJU — 49 to 122 employees in 9 months, full exec layer built

See our case studies for full details.

Six Sigma Talent is focused on talent acquisition only. For Japan entity setup, accounting, tax, payroll, and HR services, we refer clients to our partner AQ Partners, who specialize in these areas.