Unlike the US and China, Japan lacks a major global software platform despite the country's fondness for technology. That's because Japan focused more on manufacturing while treating software engineering as an after-thought. That's a risky approach in the digital era, so one small software engineering boot camp is standing up to change the mindsets. Mayu Yoshida reports.

Students tucked away in this Tokyo basement work away at software code. Code Chrysalis is a Silicon Valley-styled coding boot camp. Students train here to become full-stacked engineers. The camp opened less than a year ago but has already gained the attention of Japanese blue chips.

KANI MUNIDASA, CO-FOUNDER & CEO CODE CHRYSALIS "The biggest change we want to influence is to ask companies to think about bringing software development in house, giving engineers power and autonomy to bring innovation into products and to bring innovation to functionality versus just giving them tasks to do."

Unlike other coding courses, students learn "soft skills" such as presentations and team-building. They also get exclusive headhunting opportunities and even voice training from an opera singer. The payoff for completing the 9-thousand dollar course is big. Organizers say graduates get an 80 % raise in base salaries. Some leave their jobs to join this 12-week camp, while others are blessed with company sponsorships.

XIAOZHOU JIA, ENGINEER NTT DATA "Sometimes I think I know how to do this, but when you get your hands dirty and really dive into those tasks. It might not be as easy as you might be expecting, so that was quite challenging."

MAYU YOSHIDA TOKYO "Japanese firms have traditionally viewed software engineers as a way to cut costs rather than add value to the company. Entry-level software engineers in Japan earn less than half of their counterparts in the U.S. despite a severe labor shortage. Code Chrysalis wants to make changes from the bottom-up to this corporate culture."

The company's mission is to reboot software engineers. Behind the mission is a reputable board of advisors, including former Sony CEO Nobuyuki Idei.

NOBUYUKI IDEI, FORMER CEO & CODE CHRYSALIS ADVISOR SONY "Software is critical for companies to keep up or even lead the transformation in the industry Younger generations should use actives like Code Chrysalis to challenge themselves. That's why I support Kani."

Japanese software engineers hope for more opportunities with the proper education and training and to bring the industry to the forefront amid a global hiring frenzy.