Why Japanese companies have apps built overseas, and why a bridge engineer sits in the middle 🐧

When I explained the bridge SE job to someone, people often said to me, "Then why not just build it in Japan?" 🐧

So why ask for app development overseas? Simply, because it keeps the cost down.

A team in Southeast Asia can be cheaper than hiring a Japanese engineer. That was the big reason. (But lately, salaries in Southeast Asia have gone up too, so the difference is not as big as before.)

But because it is cheap, the language and culture gap stays. When you build while talking every week, that part makes you worried.

So someone like me (Japanese, and able to speak English fairly well) sat in the middle. That was how I did the job of building the bridge.