Work permits, case themes, and preparation

• This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change, so check the official pages and ask the recruiter early.
• Japan: many foreign graduates in business roles work under the status of residence "Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services" (Immigration Services Agency). The employer usually supports the application.
• Korea: the E-7 visa covers professional work designated by the Minister of Justice. Bain Seoul's trainee program says foreign applicants need an F-4 visa or above, and BCG Seoul asks that candidates be legally able to work in Korea.
• Korea's Top-Tier visa (F-2, launched April 2025) is aimed mainly at highly skilled, high-earning professionals and researchers. The announcement also names graduates of some leading Korean universities, so check the current criteria.

Typical case themes

• An aging, shrinking population: labor shortages, automation, rural services, and health care.
• Family-owned companies whose owners are retiring without a successor, and private-equity deals for them.
• Manufacturing, electronics, cars, and materials, and how Japanese and Korean companies grow abroad.
• Consumer brands exporting from Korea and Japan, such as cosmetics, food, and entertainment.

What to prepare

• In Japan, plan a year ahead: internships in the year before your final year are often the main route in.
• Practice Fermi estimation out loud, in Japanese if the office interviews in Japanese.
• Practice full cases in the language of the office, including the math and the synthesis.
• If you study abroad, look for each firm's separate process for overseas students; the deadlines are different.
• Read one recent public report on Japan or Korea from each firm you target.

Last reviewed: 2026-09-28. Sources, official pages first. "Reported" means a secondary source, not the firm or government itself.

• Cabinet Secretariat (Japan): request on the hiring schedule for students graduating in academic year 2027 (in Japanese) (official government source): https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/shushoku_katsudou_yousei/2027nendosotu/index.html
• Cabinet Secretariat (Japan): index of hiring schedule requests, dated 24 March 2026 (in Japanese) (official government source): https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/shushoku_katsudou_yousei/index.html
• Cabinet Secretariat (Japan): early selection after specialist internships, 5 December 2024 (in Japanese) (official government source): https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/seisaku/shushoku_katsudou/pdf/r061205_siryou.pdf
• MEXT, MHLW, and METI (Japan): rules on internships and hiring (in Japanese) (official government source): https://www.mext.go.jp/content/20231016-mxt_daigakuc02-000031719_35.pdf
• Immigration Services Agency of Japan: Engineer/Specialist in Humanities/International Services (in Japanese) (official government source): https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/status/gijinkoku.html
• Embassy of the Republic of Korea: E-7 visa (official government source): https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/fi-en/brd/m_20979/view.do?seq=5
• Korea.net: Top-Tier visa (April 2025) (official government source): https://www.korea.net/NewsFocus/policies/view?articleId=269172
• Bain Tokyo: hiring process for Japanese university students (in Japanese) (official): https://www.bain.com/ja/careers/hiring-process/tokyo/domestic-undergrad/
• Bain Tokyo: hiring process for overseas university students (in Japanese) (official): https://www.bain.com/ja/careers/hiring-process/tokyo/overseas-undergrad/
• Bain: Associate Consultant Trainee program, Korea (official): https://www.bain.com/careers/work-with-us/internships-programs/associate-consultant-trainee-korea/
• Bain: Tokyo office (official): https://www.bain.com/offices/tokyo/
• Bain: Seoul office (official): https://www.bain.com/offices/seoul/
• BCG Japan: class of 2028 new graduates (in Japanese) (official): https://careers.bcg.com/jp/ja/japan-new-grads-2028
• BCG Japan: new graduate recruiting (in Japanese) (official): https://careers.bcg.com/jp/ja/japan-newgrads
• BCG: Tokyo office (official): https://www.bcg.com/offices/tokyo/default
• BCG: Seoul office (official): https://www.bcg.com/offices/seoul/default
• BCG: Korea Associate jobs (official): https://careers.bcg.com/global/en/locations/korea/associate-jobs
• BCG: International opportunities, application timing and languages by country (official): https://careers.bcg.com/global/en/locations/united-kingdom/international-opportunities
• L.E.K.: Tokyo office (official): https://www.lek.com/global-offices/tokyo
• Oliver Wyman: Tokyo office (official): https://www.oliverwyman.com/our-expertise/global-locations/asia-pacific/japan/tokyo.html
• Roland Berger: Japan (official): https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Locations/Japan/News/
• Roland Berger: South Korea (official): https://www.rolandberger.com/en/Locations/Southkorea/
• Kearney Korea: office location (in Korean) (official): https://www.kearney.co.kr/infrastructure/article/-/insights/aKdLlqA4MHWo/content/korea-location-map
• Deloitte Tohmatsu LLC (in Japanese) (official): https://www.deloitte.com/jp/ja/about/group/deloitte-tohmatsu-llc.html
• EY Strategy and Consulting (in Japanese) (official): https://www.ey.com/ja_jp/about-us/ey-strategy-and-consulting
• KPMG Consulting Japan: corporate profile (in Japanese) (official): https://kpmg.com/jp/ja/about/kc/corporate-profile.html
• Accenture Japan (in Japanese) (official): https://www.accenture.com/jp-ja/about/company/japan
• Nomura Research Institute: consulting (in Japanese) (official): https://www.nri.com/jp/service/consulting
• Dream Incubator: company (in Japanese) (official): https://www.dreamincubator.co.jp/company/
• ABeam Consulting: about (in Japanese) (official): https://www.abeam.com/jp/ja/about/
• YCP: Locations (official): https://ycp.com/locations
• KPMG Samjong (in Korean) (official): https://kpmg.com/kr/ko/home/about.html
• EY-Parthenon Korea careers (in Korean) (official): https://www.ey.com/ko_kr/careers/parthenon
• Reported: Alternative Careers, McKinsey Japan recruiting for the class of 2023 (in Japanese, November 2022): https://www.alternativecareers.jp/articles/mckinsey_mac_23_recruit
• Reported: PrepLounge forum, McKinsey Japan case interview language (September 2022): https://www.preplounge.com/consulting-forum/mckinsey-japan-case-interview-language-14543
• Reported: Candidate blog on note.com, Bain Japan class of 2028 selection (in Japanese; low reliability): https://note.com/ideal_impala5739/n/n279ab87953cb
• Reported: Korea University career board, BCG RA internship posting (November 2023): https://biz.korea.ac.kr/cdc/eng/recruitment/recruitment_view.html?no=11996&page=1
• Reported: Wikipedia, Conscription in South Korea: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conscription_in_South_Korea
• Reported (news): Consultancy.asia, Oliver Wyman closes its Seoul office (December 2020): https://www.consultancy.asia/news/3775/oliver-wyman-closes-its-office-in-seoul-south-korea