[MMM]

My experience is working on the hiring committees at a Japanese bank and at a translation company hiring translators and marketing people. In both situations the bosses were Japanese, and I was being kind, and Nyororin is right.

Most jobs I have seen in Japan that are directed towards hiring foreigners say "4-year degree required". Of the dozens of resumes I have read, only once did I see one that was someone without a degree. We actually did hire that person because she was three weeks from graduation, and we needed someone immediately. (She had her degree three weeks later, but I would say the boss felt like he was going out on a limb for her.)