A Japanese application does not usually rest on a Western-style cover letter. The case for hiring you goes in the rirekisho (履歴書, the standard resume form), whose motivation box is the nearest thing to a letter, and in the shokumu keirekisho (職務経歴書, a career history). A one-page cover sheet, the soejō (添え状), goes on top when you post the documents. Foreign-affiliated firms that hire in English expect an English resume and often a cover letter.
Below: each document and when it is needed, the layout of the cover sheet, how to address it, and the same application twice, as an English cover letter and as a Japanese cover sheet.
Key points
- Put your reasons for applying in the rirekisho's motivation box and in the shokumu keirekisho, not in a long letter.
- Send a soejō only with documents you post. By email, the message itself does that job.
- Lay the soejō out on one A4 page: 拝啓 to open, 敬具 to close, and the enclosures under 記, ending 以上.
- Write 様 after a person's name and 御中 after a company or department, never both.
- Write 貴社 for "your company" on paper; 御社 is the spoken form.
In this guide
The documents, and which one does the persuading
- The rirekisho (履歴書). A resume on a set form: personal details, education, work history, qualifications, and a box for your motivation and self-promotion. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare publishes a sample form, made after the Japanese Industrial Standard dropped its own in 2020; the ministry's form makes the gender field optional and removes questions about commuting time and dependants (Saitama Labour Bureau, Miyagi Prefecture). Its motivation and self-PR share one box (Recruit Direct Scout).
- The shokumu keirekisho (職務経歴書). A career history in your own format, where you show in detail what you did in each job and what you can bring (Hello Work, the public employment service). It is mainly asked of people changing jobs. About two A4 pages is usual (Mynavi Agent).
- The soejō (添え状) or sōfujō (送付状). A one-page cover sheet that says what you are sending and why, with a short note of your motivation. doda, a large Japanese careers site, suggests three or four lines for that note.
So the persuading that an English letter does is split between the rirekisho's motivation box and the shokumu keirekisho. The soejō is a courtesy. Write it carefully, but keep it short.
When to send a soejō
When you post your documents, include one. When you bring them to the company or hand them over at the interview, you do not need one (doda); a short spoken line such as 「応募書類を提出いたします」 does instead (Mynavi Agent).
When you apply by email, there is no separate cover sheet. The email does its work: a clear subject line, a short message, and the documents attached as PDFs (doda). For email in general, see How to send a cover letter by email.
The layout of a soejō
One A4 page, made on a computer (doda), in this order:
- The date, top right.
- The company, department and person, on the left.
- Your address, name, phone and email, on the right.
- A title, centred, such as 応募書類の送付について ("Sending my application documents").
- 拝啓, an opening courtesy, why you are writing, three or four lines of motivation, a closing courtesy, and 敬具.
- 記, centred, then the documents enclosed, one per line, and 以上 at the bottom right.
The seasonal greeting that traditionally follows 拝啓 may be left out (doda). A courtesy that suits any season, such as 貴社ますますご清栄のこととお慶び申し上げます, is a common choice.
| Writing to | Form | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A named person | 人事部 長谷部 由香 様 | Department, full name, then 様. |
| A department or company, no name | 人事部 御中 / 採用ご担当者様 | 御中 after an organisation. Never 御中 and 様 together (Mynavi Agent). |
| "Your company", in writing | 貴社 | 御社 is the spoken form, used at interview (doda). |
The rirekisho: photo, handwriting and the motivation box
- Photo. The form still has a place for one. It is usually 4 cm by 3 cm, taken within the last three months, with your name on the back in case it comes loose (Mynavi Agent).
- Handwritten or typed. Either is acceptable unless the employer says which; handwriting is no longer expected (doda).
- The motivation box. This is the part to write with the most care. Say why this company and this job, tied to something you have done, as you would in the body of an English letter, in a few sentences.
The rules for an English letter's opening still help here: see How to start a cover letter.
The same application in English and in Japanese
Tunde Okoye is British and has worked in Osaka for three years, selling for a food exporter to buyers in South East Asia. He is applying for an overseas sales role at Sorahashi Logistics (株式会社ソラハシ物流). Its international team accepts English applications by email; its Japanese process asks for a rirekisho and a shokumu keirekisho by post. The reader is Yuka Hasebe (長谷部 由香) in human resources. All of them are invented.
In English, for the international team
Tunde Okoye, three years in export sales, to Yuka Hasebe at Sorahashi Logistics · Professional tone · 176 words
Dear Ms Hasebe,1
I am applying for the overseas sales role advertised on your website. For three years I have sold for a food exporter in Osaka to buyers in Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia, and I would like to bring that work to a company that moves the goods rather than makes them2.
Last year I opened twelve new accounts in Vietnam and Thailand, and sales in my region rose 30 percent on the year before. Most of that came from visiting distributors in person and then handling their orders myself, from quotation to customs paperwork3, so I know where shipments go wrong and what buyers ask of a logistics partner.
English is my first language, and I passed the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test at N14, so I can work with your Japanese colleagues and your customers abroad without a go-between. I understand Sorahashi is expanding its services to South East Asia, the market I know best.
My resume is attached. I would welcome the chance to discuss the role at an interview.
Kind regards, Tunde Okoye
Why this works
- 1In English, "Ms" and the family name. The Japanese 様 belongs in Japanese only.
- 2Why this kind of company, in one line, which is what the motivation box asks for too.
- 3Detail that matters to a logistics firm, from a sales job that is not in logistics.
- 4A named test and level, not "fluent Japanese". It answers the first question a Japanese reader will have.
In Japanese: the soejō on top of the posted documents
The same application, as the cover sheet for his rirekisho and shokumu keirekisho · Professional tone · 393 characters
2026年10月7日
株式会社ソラハシ物流 人事部 長谷部 由香 様1
大阪府大阪市 トゥンデ・オコイェ メール：tunde.okoye@example.com
応募書類の送付について2
拝啓 貴社ますますご清栄のこととお慶び申し上げます。3 このたび、貴社ウェブサイトに掲載されております海外営業職の求人を拝見し、応募させていただきました。
私は現在、大阪の食品輸出会社で3年間、東南アジア向けの営業を担当しております。昨年はベトナムとタイで新規取引先を12社開拓し、担当地域の売上を前年比30％伸ばしました4。日本語能力試験N1を取得しており、英語は母語です。この経験を、東南アジア向けのサービスを拡大されている貴社で生かしたいと考えております。
つきましては、応募書類を同封いたしましたので、ご査収のほどよろしくお願い申し上げます。ぜひ一度、面接の機会をいただけますと幸いです。 敬具
記 ・履歴書 1通 ・職務経歴書 1通 以上5
Why this works
- 1Department, full name and 様. No 御中 here, because the letter goes to a named person.
- 2The title, centred on the page: "Sending my application documents".
- 3拝啓, then a courtesy that suits any season in place of a seasonal greeting. 貴社 is the written "your company".
- 4The motivation note: four sentences, close to doda's three or four lines, with one result. The full case goes in the rirekisho and the shokumu keirekisho.
- 5The enclosures under 記, ending with 以上 at the bottom right of the page.
The two are different documents, not one letter in two languages. The English letter makes the case; the soejō introduces the documents that make it, with a short note of motivation. Japanese business writing has many fixed forms, so have a native speaker read yours before you post it.
Cover Letter Guru writes in Japanese or in English from your resume and the job listing. Use the draft for an English cover letter, or as a start on your motivation text, and edit it in place.
Write my letter in JapaneseMistakes to avoid if you are used to applying elsewhere
- A long persuasive letter in place of the rirekisho. Fill in the motivation box and the shokumu keirekisho; keep the soejō to a page.
- 御中 and 様 together, or 御社 in writing. Use one honorific, and 貴社 on paper.
- A cover sheet on an email. By email, the message is the cover.
- Typos and missing characters. JPSS, a careers guide for international students in Japan, is plain that there must be none. It also advises a studio photo in a suit, and having your rirekisho checked before you send it.
- Copying the English resume's choices into a rirekisho. The form asks for a photo and personal details that an English resume leaves out. Fill in what the form asks for.
Common questions
- Do Japanese companies want a cover letter?
- Not as English-speaking countries know it. They want a rirekisho with a motivation box and, if you have worked before, a shokumu keirekisho. A one-page soejō goes on top when you post them. Foreign-affiliated firms may ask for an English cover letter.
- Do I need a soejō if I apply by email?
- No. The email itself does the job: a clear subject line, a short message, and the documents attached as PDFs.
- Does the rirekisho have to be handwritten?
- No. Unless the employer asks for one or the other, a typed or handwritten rirekisho are both acceptable.
- What is the difference between 貴社 and 御社?
- Both mean "your company". Write 貴社 in documents such as the rirekisho and the soejō; say 御社 when you speak, including at the interview.
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