Hanapon = hanap (to search) + Hapon (Japan)
About Hanapon
Hanapon exists for one reason: too many Filipinos pay money to people who cannot send them anywhere. The rules for working and studying in Japan are public, but they sit on Japanese and Philippine government sites, in two languages, and nobody explains them plainly. We do.
What we are not
- We are not a recruitment agency and we hold no DMW license, because we do not recruit.
- We do not post job offers and we do not introduce applicants to employers or agencies.
- We do not accept money from agencies, sending organizations, or employers for sending them applicants.
- Nobody from Hanapon will ever contact you to offer a job or ask for a fee. If someone does, it is not us.
Where the information comes from
Primary sources only: the Immigration Services Agency of Japan (ISA), the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare test policy, the Japan Foundation (JFT-Basic), the Department of Migrant Workers (DMW), and OWWA. Lists such as licensed agencies and registered support organizations are copied from the official registers on a schedule and marked with the date they were checked.
Automated collection is done with n8n; every rule that appears in a guide is reviewed by a person before publication. When we are not sure, we say so.
How the site earns
Hanapon is free to read. It earns in three ways, none of which involve job placement:
- Affiliate links to services you would use anyway: remittance providers, Japanese-learning platforms and books, SIM cards and insurance for Japan. Links are marked. Rankings on comparison pages are by what you receive, never by who pays us.
- Listings: Japanese-language schools, and licensed professionals in Japan (gyoseishoshi, tax accountants, labor consultants) who work in English and appear on Find Help. Listings are a flat monthly fee, never a share of your case or refund, and are labeled as advertising. You choose who to hire.
- Study materials such as JFT-Basic practice tests, sold directly. Planned.
- Software for schools and registered support organizations, planned for later.
Who runs it
Hanapon is operated from Manila by PH AI Works, a small Japanese-run studio. The founder is a Japanese software engineer with more than thirty years in IT who reads the Japanese-language regulations directly and has lived in the Philippines for years. The site is built and maintained by that one person, with automation doing the repetitive parts.
Corrections and contact
Rules change. If you find something outdated, or an agency listed with the wrong status, use the contact form. Reports about suspicious recruiters are welcome; we cannot recover money, but we can point you to the right office.