Japan Dev Podcast #9 is with Laurie Griffiths! ⛩️Laurie is a software engineer from the UK currently living in Fukuoka, and we asked him all about his 12+ year journey in Japan.Laurie shares all about freelancing and building community in Japan — and why he thinks Fukuoka is the perfect place to live as a software engineer. His unique path is filled with insights for anyone who wants to move to Japan and work as a software engineer.Takeaways:✅ Fukuoka’s Tech Scene is Growing – Startups, government support, and a tight-knit community.✅ Challenges of Freelancing in Japan – Visas, competition, and business structures matter.✅ Japanese Language Skills Open Doors.✅ Community engagement makes a difference.✅ Work Flexibility is Key – Freelancing vs. traditional jobs in Japan.✅ Japan’s Job Market is Changing – New opportunities for engineers & startups.👉 More from LaurieHomepage: https://lauriegriffiths.github.io/Fukuoka Engineer Cafe: https://engineercafe.jp/Engineer Cafe Discord:   / discord  Timestamps -00:00 - In this video00:46 - Meet Laurie ( His background & Journey )02:02 - Tech career paths & culture05:52 - Learning Japanese with community11:38 - Visa challenges for freelancers13:30 - Freelance & tech community17:15 - Startups focus on culture22:34 - Thriving startup ecosystem27:48 - Bootstrap success via networking33:06 - Business structure challenges38:05 - Freelancing vs. employment risks43:16 - Career transitions into tech48:37 - Growing English-speaking community55:11 - Struggles to attract talent1:03:56 - Fukuoka’s lifestyle for engineers💬 Have questions about tech jobs in Japan? Drop them in the comments — we’ll read them. And we’ll do our best to answer them!🌟 Don't forget to like, subscribe, and hit the notification bell 🔔 so you never miss a new video from Japan Dev!👉 Find your dream tech job in Japan:🔗 Website: https://japan-dev.com📸 Instagram: / japan.dev 🐦 Twitter/X: https://x.com/jpn_dev💼 LinkedIn: / japan-dev