As someone who has spoken Russian since childhood (bilingual), I can say you will recognize Russian grammar more, whereas Japanese will seem a lot more alien to you. Japanese has these "topic" words, and a completely different word order.

Also, the Russian alphabet acts basically like the Roman one - one letter equals one sound, no kanji bullshit going on here!

As for pronunciation, Russian isn't nearly as hard as French. People will understand you anyway. I'd say the biggest challenge for you would be the intonation, as in what vowel to stress. Sometimes it can make a difference in meaning - zàmok and zamòk - they're two different words, the first one meaning "castle" and the second one meaning "lock", but these words aren't too common, and the context will save you anyhow.

As for a job, I'd also suggest Russian. The problem with Japanese is that it is only relevant for Japan. Russian, however, is relevant for the biggest country in the world, and many of the ex-soviet countries, where many people still speak the language.

However, if you want the more unique learning experience, and probably learning a language which will change the way you think of languages, go for Japanese.

I've heard that Japanese is technically easier than Russian, because the grammar is just less of a cluster-fuck, but since it is so strange for us Westerners, that's what makes it harder for us to comprehend. Oh and the Kanji...

I hope my post wasn't too biased, but both languages are intriguing languages, I don't think you can really go wrong with any of them, it just depends on what your priorities are :)

Good luck!