“This shortage of skilled coders isn’t only being felt in Japan. As more and more companies look toward implementing blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency industry continues to expand other countries are facing the same problems. Hong Kong, for example, is looking at a large potential growth of the technology in their banking and insurance industries but have a finite number of eligible people to allow that growth to happen. Other countries like the UK and the US that have good environments for research through their university systems have pools of engineers well versed in the developing technologies and see no immediate shortage.”

Japan is one of the biggest crypto-savvy nations in the world. Whilst its neighbours are clamping down on cryptocurrency activity due to perceived threats, Japan have remained open and optimistic about how safe cryptocurrency trading can benefit the Pacific nation. The Financial Services Agency (FSA) have recently developed new strategies and requirements for cryptocurrency exchanges to follow, in the wake of the devastating Coincheck hack in January, evidence that the government are keen to facilitate cryptocurrency activity within its borders but are equally keen to ensure that trading remains above board, legal and safe. The problem in Japan now is not the safety and security of users who trade cryptocurrency, rather the problem is that because of the popularity of the industry, it has almost grown to big for the island. There seems to be an imminent shortage of coders and cybersecurity experts who are working in Japan and whom have the skills to be able to work to the tight restrictions put in place by the FSA. At the moment, there are 32 registered cryptocurrency exchanges operating in Japan with over 100 more waiting to be accepted. This evidence suggests that the market demand is high, but, do these exchanges have the workforce required to ensure that their operations remain legal? Well, according to NewsBTC, the Ministry of Economy in Japan found a shortfall of around 15,000 workers in the computer science, data science and artificial intelligence fields. From this finding, they predicted that in 2020, the shortfall would increase to 50,000 workers as a result of technological advancement. Now we are nearing that time, and indeed technology has advanced, companies in Japan should start seeing holes in their workforce that need to be filled quickly, should they wish to continue operating, especially the cryptocurrency exchanges that have such tight regulations to operate by. The sorts of jobs that need filling, include coders and cybersecurity experts. Granted the predicted shortfall of 50,000 isn’t exclusive to just cryptocurrency companies, it’s the tech-industry as a whole but either way, as salaries are going up, the demand for staff is following. It’s a really good time to try and get work in Japan if you’re a talented coder of cybersecurity expert at the moment, apparently. So how come Japan, a technologically advanced country doesn’t have enough coders? I think NewsBTC have demonstrated a reason for this very well with the following:Unfortunately for the Japanese labour markets, as with many other countries, many young intellectuals seek further study elsewhere in countries like the UK that have renowned Universities and research facilities, taking a large portion of the skilled labour force the Japanese markets need, into other areas of work such as research and academia, a less hands on field that benefits the computer science industry on the whole but does not help specific firms achieve their targets directly. Overall, it is interesting to look at how the cryptocurrency industry encourages employment, and on the flip side, its interesting to see how government regulation can affect the spread of that employment. If Japan is to continue as a (if not the) cryptocurrency superpower then they need to start retaining their intellectuals and encourage programmes for an industry standard workforce, created to improve the cryptocurrency industry on its shores. Otherwise, if you’re a skilled coder looking for work internationally, perhaps Japan holds a prosperous future for you.