Company Check Sunterritory

[mzg]

Hi, does anyone know how to check if a Japan company is genuine? I received a message asking if I was interested in working in Japan and here are their company details:

Company Name: Sunterritory株式会社
Address: 〒160-0023 東京都新宿区西新宿6丁目11番3号 16F104号
Website: Sun Territory

I'm not Japanese and don't know if this company is legitimate or if their office is really located at the address above. can someone help me please

 

[mdchachi]

According to Bing:
Sunterritory.jp is a website that claims to be a game development company based in Tokyo, Japan. However, according to some sources, it may be a suspicious or scam website. Here are some reasons why you should be careful when visiting or interacting with this website:

• It was created very recently, in September 2023, which is a common sign of fraudulent websites.
• It has very low popularity and traffic, which means it is not well-known or trusted by users1.
• It does not provide any contact information, such as phone number, email address, or social media accounts, which makes it hard to verify its legitimacy or reach out for support.
• It does not have any reviews or feedback from customers or users, which means there is no evidence of its quality or reliability.
• It does not have any games or products listed on its website, which makes it unclear what it actually offers or does.

Therefore, I would advise you to be cautious and do more research before engaging with this website. You can also use some tools to check the safety and reputation of a website, such as ScamAdviser. I hope this helps.

 

[Mikawa Ossan]

I was able to find them as a registered legal entity, but that came about only at the end of August this year. They do have a registered commercial image. I will be honest and tell you that I didn't look too hard. Here are a couple of websites. Remember, Google Translate is your friend.

Based on their lack of history, I would just advise that if you decide to work for them, proceed with caution and have an exit strategy and backup plan in case it doesn't work out.

SunTerritory株式会社 商標権者・商標出願人 | 商標(商標出願・登録商標) 情報

このページでは、商標権者・商標出願人「SunTerritory株式会社」が保有する、特許庁発行の1件の、商標公報データに基づく商標(商標出願・登録商標)の情報を提供しています。商標権者・商標出願人「SunTerritory株式会社」が保有する、商標(商標出願・登録商標)、指定商品・指定役務(サービス)、類似群コード、商標の手続きを行っている弁理士・特許事務所など、商標に関する情報を調べることができます。

patent-i.com

https://www.houjin.info/detail/1011101104142/

 

[mdchachi]

That address leads to a Wework office. Wework is a global chain that provides office rental space for small companies such as startups. So if this company is a small, legitimate start up it could make sense. Or if it's a small organization trying to scam people it could also make sense.
How did the company say they found your contact information? Did you respond to a job posting or post your resume somewhere?
The web site does say they started in August of this year. So they are honest in that sense. But for this kind of game development work there would be no need for you to go to Japan. That can be done remotely. You could continue the conversation and see how it goes. If they start asking you to pay any fees then it's definitely a scam. Legitimate companies don't ask prospective employees for money. Please report back and let us know what you find out.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

 

[thomas]

Impressive investigative work in this thread!

@mzg, as mentioned above, I would also like to know how they found you. Did they contact you in English or Japanese?

 

[Lothor]

According to Bing:
Sunterritory.jp is a website that claims to be a game development company based in Tokyo, Japan. However, according to some sources, it may be a suspicious or scam website. Here are some reasons why you should be careful when visiting or interacting with this website:

• It was created very recently, in September 2023, which is a common sign of fraudulent websites.
• It has very low popularity and traffic, which means it is not well-known or trusted by users1.
• It does not provide any contact information, such as phone number, email address, or social media accounts, which makes it hard to verify its legitimacy or reach out for support.
• It does not have any reviews or feedback from customers or users, which means there is no evidence of its quality or reliability.
• It does not have any games or products listed on its website, which makes it unclear what it actually offers or does.

Therefore, I would advise you to be cautious and do more research before engaging with this website. You can also use some tools to check the safety and reputation of a website, such as ScamAdviser. I hope this helps.

That's a very interesting and useful site you used! I learned that my own website is 70% legit! (The lack of traffic reduces its rating.)

 

[mzg]

Thanks for you all reply, it help me a lot.

 

[mzg]

That address leads to a Wework office. Wework is a global chain that provides office rental space for small companies such as startups. So if this company is a small, legitimate start up it could make sense. Or if it's a small organization trying to scam people it could also make sense.
How did the company say they found your contact information? Did you respond to a job posting or post your resume somewhere?
The web site does say they started in August of this year. So they are honest in that sense. But for this kind of game development work there would be no need for you to go to Japan. That can be done remotely. You could continue the conversation and see how it goes. If they start asking you to pay any fees then it's definitely a scam. Legitimate companies don't ask prospective employees for money. Please report back and let us know what you find out.

Google Maps

Find local businesses, view maps and get driving directions in Google Maps.

maps.app.goo.gl

yes, I'm currently looking for a job so have posted my resume to several job sites

 

[mzg]

The person who contacted me via Whatsapp claimed to be an assistant for a company in the Philippines. They had just opened a new company in Japan, so they wanted to find IT technicians from all over the world. So far, there is only one person in the company, and there is also an Indonesian person who is applying for a visa. He said they have Japanese translator, and that translator will handle the company issues, and what they employees that want to hire must know to speak mandarin and english.

And I have a question here, is that necessary to pass the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test if want to work in Japan? Or there is no problem if any of the Japan company willing to hire a foreigner? Because I ask that Philippines assistant and he tell me no need to take exam.

 

[nice gaijin]

The person who contacted me via Whatsapp claimed to be an assistant for a company in the Philippines. They had just opened a new company in Japan, so they wanted to find IT technicians from all over the world. So far, there is only one person in the company, and there is also an Indonesian person who is applying for a visa. He said they have Japanese translator, and that translator will handle the company issues, and what they employees that want to hire must know to speak mandarin and english.

And I have a question here, is that necessary to pass the Japanese-Language Proficiency Test if want to work in Japan? Or there is no problem if any of the Japan company willing to hire a foreigner? Because I ask that Philippines assistant and he tell me no need to take exam.

That's an awfully small operation, I would be wary... I would ask for more information about their company, their products and services, goals, how much they intend to expand their workforce. I'd want to know under what conditions I'd be working, the promised salary, any other benefits or stipends they'd offer (hardship pay for relocating etc), and a detailed scope of work to know what would be expected of me.

My wariness comes from the fact that they probably don't have this information on hand, which makes me worry that they may not be a reliable employer to move internationally for...

I don't believe the JLPT is required by the Japanese government to qualify for a visa; as far as I know it would depend on the hiring requirements of the employer, so if they don't require it you don't need to take it.

However, I would HIGHLY recommend studying at least some Japanese if you plan to visit, let alone live and work in Japan.

 

[mdchachi]

There is no language requirement to work in Japan or get a visa to work in Japan.
However I'm curious how the company thinks it can sponsor a work visa for you.
And what is the reason for them needing you physically in Japan in the first place?

 

[mzg]

Hi, thanks for your all responses, it's been a while since I last updated. I recently passed the interview, and I'm now in touch with the assistant who contacted me via WhatsApp. Here's the latest update:

As previously mentioned, the individual who contacted me is an assistant for a company in the Philippines. This Filipino company is primarily involved in online casino games, as seen on their website (Feiwin). Regarding the new company in Japan(Sunterritory株式会社), there is no direct connection to the Philippines-based company(Feiwin).

Feiwin primarily focuses on in-house projects, while Sunterritory株式会社 specializes in finding clients for projects, especially in the mobile games sector. Their clients come from various countries, not just Japan. At the moment, they are temporarily utilizing IT developers from Feiwin to support their client projects due to a shortage of IT developers in Japan. Their boss is Chinese, now stay in Japan company.

 

[mzg]

Hi, thanks for your all responses, it's been a while since I last updated. I recently passed the interview, and I'm now in touch with the assistant who contacted me via WhatsApp. Here's the latest update:

As previously mentioned, the individual who contacted me is an assistant for a company in the Philippines. This Filipino company is primarily involved in online casino games, as seen on their website (Feiwin). Regarding the new company in Japan(Sunterritory株式会社), there is no direct connection to the Philippines-based company(Feiwin).

Feiwin primarily focuses on in-house projects, while Sunterritory株式会社 specializes in finding clients for projects, especially in the mobile games sector. Their clients come from various countries, not just Japan. At the moment, they are temporarily utilizing IT developers from Feiwin to support their client projects due to a shortage of IT developers in Japan. Their boss is Chinese, now stay in Japan company.

• The company will provide work visa, and pay some part of social insurance.
• As mentioned in previous post, there is no requirement to take the JLPT exam, so that there's no need to learn Japanese at the company(which means they didn't provide any support for language learning), because their boss is Chinese, and communication with the boss can be conducted in Chinese and English, and there is a Japanese interpreter available in the company as well.
• The company does not provide accommodation or meal allowances, but provide transportation fee
• No annual leaves provided, because their boss said Japan has a lot of public holidays.

 

[mzg]

That's an awfully small operation, I would be wary... I would ask for more information about their company, their products and services, goals, how much they intend to expand their workforce. I'd want to know under what conditions I'd be working, the promised salary, any other benefits or stipends they'd offer (hardship pay for relocating etc), and a detailed scope of work to know what would be expected of me.

My wariness comes from the fact that they probably don't have this information on hand, which makes me worry that they may not be a reliable employer to move internationally for...

I don't believe the JLPT is required by the Japanese government to qualify for a visa; as far as I know it would depend on the hiring requirements of the employer, so if they don't require it you don't need to take it.

However, I would HIGHLY recommend studying at least some Japanese if you plan to visit, let alone live and work in Japan.

For expanding the workforce in Sunterritory, They plan to hire 20 developers for the team, and as far as I know, there is only IT development team in Japan.

 

[mzg]

There is no language requirement to work in Japan or get a visa to work in Japan.
However I'm curious how the company thinks it can sponsor a work visa for you.
And what is the reason for them needing you physically in Japan in the first place?

Hmmm I think is because the boss stay in Japan currently...?

 

[mdchachi]

Did they give you a proper interview? Or is it all emails? Minimally you should have some video interview with the person who would be your boss. If they ask you for any money during this process, then it's not legitimate. Or exploitive anyway. If they don't give you support to find housing that's also a problem. They should give you at least 4-8 weeks in temporary housing while you find an apartment. And they should support you as guarantor. Even if you pay for the housing, it's difficult to get a lease on your own without a company backing you up.

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Our local news had a big piece about internet job offers with many being real slick scams. Seems like you really have to be careful and investigate 6 ways to Sunday.

 

[mzg]

Did they give you a proper interview? Or is it all emails? Minimally you should have some video interview with the person who would be your boss. If they ask you for any money during this process, then it's not legitimate. Or exploitive anyway. If they don't give you support to find housing that's also a problem. They should give you at least 4-8 weeks in temporary housing while you find an apartment. And they should support you as guarantor. Even if you pay for the housing, it's difficult to get a lease on your own without a company backing you up.

Yea, they had video interviews, but because they didn't have the cameras on, I couldn't even see their faces during the interviews. There is no any housing support, based on that guy said, I have to find my own accommodation. They gave me the job offer but I have turned them down because I still have concerns about the safety of this company, especially working overseas, I think it is better to choose a more reliable company rather than a startup that is less than one year of company. Anyways, thanks for your all help.

 

[mdchachi]

Yea, they had video interviews, but because they didn't have the cameras on, I couldn't even see their faces during the interviews. There is no any housing support, based on that guy said, I have to find my own accommodation. They gave me the job offer but I have turned them down because I still have concerns about the safety of this company, especially working overseas, I think it is better to choose a more reliable company rather than a startup that is less than one year of company. Anyways, thanks for your all help.

I think you made the right choice. It doesn't sound legitimate. Even if it's a real company I don't think they would support you properly.