Japan Firms Hold Welcome Events for Students with Job Offers

October 1, 2018

Tokyo- Some companies in Japan on Monday held ceremonies for university students who have received informal job offers while others postponed or canceled their events due to a strong typhoon.

Typhoon Trami crossed Japan's Honshu main island from Sunday night to Monday morning, causing heavy rains and strong winds and disrupting public transport in many parts of the country, including the greater Tokyo area.

Amid lingering impacts of the typhoon, electronics retailer Nojima Corp. opened its ceremony at 9:30 a.m. (12:30 a.m. GMT) in the city of Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo.

"Employees who follow orders are necessary, but we also want you to distinguish yourselves by speaking out your opinions and improve yourselves," President Hiroshi Nojima addressed some 500 students at the ceremony.

Resona Holdings Inc. <8308> also had a ceremony in Tokyo from noon. Speaking to some 400 students, President Kazuhiro Azuma said, "I want you to take on new challenges and grow."

Meanwhile, many companies put off or even called off their ceremonies due to impacts from the typhoon.

In Tokyo, Asahi Breweries Ltd. moved the date of its ceremony to Tuesday, while J. Front Retailing Co. canceled its group's joint ceremony.

In western Japan, Sharp Corp. and Daiwa House Industry Co. rescheduled their ceremonies.

Toshiba Corp. put off a ceremony scheduled for Monday in the city of Osaka and another slated for Tuesday in Yokohama.

The rehabilitating company plans to hire 1,500 employees in April 2019, up 1.7-fold from the previous year and close to the level in April 2015 before the firm's accounting fraud came to light.

According to leading job information provider Recruit Career Co., the share of college students with informal job offers rose 3.2 percentage points from the previous year to 91.6 pct as of Sept. 1.

"Many companies have strong appetite for hiring against the backdrop of labor shortages," said a Recruit Career official. Jiji Press