Frequently asked questions

Aoyama Professionals (APro) is a career ladder for the AI era, in Japan. It has two sides. People build AI-era careers, starting with a free 4-week internship. Companies work with us on AI-ready people, on where AI fits in their own operations, and on entering the Japanese market. It is run by two operators with twenty-plus years each in Japan, which is the part that matters: the barrier for capable people here was never the talent, it was proving it to a Japanese company.

Yes. There is no programme fee and nothing to pay APro at any stage. The one cost is your own Claude subscription (Claude Pro, about US$20 a month), paid to Anthropic, because the programme runs on Claude Code. Paying for anything at APro never improves an intern's standing in the programme or the chance of a company getting in touch.

On the intern side, the internship is free and the Academy is a ¥15,000/month subscription. The Academy carries the entrepreneurship track, whose Accelerator is invite-only with terms disclosed on invitation. Apprenticeships are commissioned by host companies, with terms on request. On the company side, the talent marketplace is ¥30,000/month, the AI-enablement assessment is ¥300,000 (excl. tax) and is credited in full against a pilot, and market-entry support runs from $10,000 / 3 months.

Task completion. Each week's tasks are agreed up front and completion is recorded on the gauge, so progress is visible to the intern and to us.

No. The internship runs in English on remote-first projects. Japanese helps a great deal if a company in Japan later wants to work with you on site, and some companies do ask for a high level, but it is not required to apply.

Current university interns and recent graduates are accepted. No prior Claude Code experience is required, because the programme starts from the tooling itself. Motivation and communication matter more than credentials.

Interns who complete the programme can have a profile published in the talent marketplace, which subscribing companies read. A company that wants to meet you contacts you directly. The internship does not promise that any company will get in touch, and nothing you pay changes that.

The 4-week internship is remote, so no visa is needed to take part. If a company in Japan later invites you to work with them on site, whether a visa is possible depends on that company, your own circumstances, and immigration. We can explain what documents are usually involved. We cannot promise a visa, and the application and the decision rest with the company, you, and the immigration authorities.

A computer, an internet connection, and your own Claude Pro subscription (about US$20 a month, paid to Anthropic). Claude Code, which the programme is built on, does not run on the free Claude plan. Everything else the programme uses is free or provided.

A small number each month. Places are set by the supervision hours available, so the number can move from cohort to cohort. The intern and apply pages show how full each cohort is as a percentage; we never publish names or headcounts.

On the first Monday of each month. Applications for an intake close 3 weeks before it starts. The apply page lists the intakes that are still open and lets you join the waitlist when they are all full.

Ryan Ahamer, APro's co-founder, runs the weekly reviews and the standups. He holds an ICF-accredited coaching certification and Anthropic's certificates in Claude Code and the Claude API, all listed on his LinkedIn profile. He builds APro itself with Claude Code, so the tools taught on the programme are the ones running it.

Through the talent marketplace: a company subscription that gives you the profiles of interns who have completed the 4-week programme, so you can decide who you would like to meet. It opens once the notification under Japan's specified recruitment information provision rules has been filed. Until then it is a waitlist, and there is nothing to buy.

¥30,000/month per company once it opens. There is no fee tied to hiring anyone. Joining the waitlist costs nothing and commits you to nothing.

A 4-week, project-based programme in generative-AI-based ways of working: document drafting and translation support, automating routine tasks, using AI development tools such as Claude Code, and organising records and knowledge. Task completion is checked every week, pitching and communication training are mandatory, and each intern receives a certificate on completion.

Yes. Any employment relationship is agreed directly between your company and the person, on your own terms. We do not charge a fee tied to a hire.

With the AI-enablement assessment: ¥300,000 (excl. tax), two to three weeks including a day on site, ending in three to five concrete opportunities written up for you and a 60-minute session with your leadership team. If you go ahead with a pilot, the fee comes off it in full.

Submit the application form with your background, track interests, and availability. We reply within one business day.

Once an application is accepted, the start date and the first week's tasks are agreed together. The internship is remote-first, so there is no relocation to plan around.

Weekly task reviews on the gauge, the mandatory pitch and communication block, and full access to the Academy's self-paced Claude Code programme for the length of the internship.

Every intern who completes receives a certificate, and top performers can have a profile published in the talent marketplace once it opens. The Academy is the way to keep building: a ¥15,000/month subscription with MVP building and five 15-minute standups per month. From the Academy the ladder splits. A Tokyo host company can commission APro to ready and supervise an apprentice, and members who validate an MVP can be invited into the Accelerator. Both are earned, neither is promised.