Question on changing job within Japan

I am working in Japan on an Intra-company transferee visa. I wish to change jobs to work at a rival company in the same industry. Is this legal? And, what forms do I need? Do I have to leave the country to change my visa status?

- Whether you can go work in a competitor company in the same industry is a matter between your current employer and yourself (you need to review your contract/employment terms with them). Does your prospective new employer know your situation and approve of it? That's another business consideration - your new employer knowing you are coming from their competitor could raise concern that you might do the same again later.

- If the current employer has sent you to Japan on an Intra-company transferee visa, that means your "real" employer is the entity back wherever you come from, not the entity here in Japan (for example, Tokyo office). Is the new employer going to do the same for you? If not, meaning, if the entity in Japan is going to hire you locally, you will need to get the new employer to sponsor you for a different category of visa for you - I don't know what kind of visa you would qualify for - but it would be either "Engineer" or "Specialist in Humanities/International Services."

- For a change of visa status, normally you do not need to leave Japan, unless you are missing some vital documents that you can only obtain in your home country. In your case, though, if you want to terminate your employment with the current employer back home, you might need to do that to sort out the competitor issue as well.