TOKYO- Major Japanese companies on Thursday started interviews and examinations as part of their job applicant selection processes for university students who are expected to graduate in spring 2018.

Many of these companies are likely to give applicants informal job offers as soon as early this month amid severe labor shortages caused by an economic recovery.

This means that this year's job-hunting period for students will effectively end within about three months from the start of March, when major companies were allowed to start information sessions with them.

The Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, the biggest business lobby in the country, called on member firms to start information sessions with students on March 1 and interviews with them on June 1.

Keidanren maintained the schedule this year after two consecutive years of change drew criticism from both students and companies.

Major companies that started interviews with students on Thursday included Tokyo-based Asahi Breweries Ltd., a unit of Asahi Group Holdings Ltd. .

Many of the students that applied for jobs at Asahi Breweries "apparently have already received informal job offers from other companies," said a company official in charge of hiring.

"We hope students will enter our company after understanding our business through interviews," the official said.

"I was able to use advice from seniors because the job-hunting schedule didn't change this year," a male student said after an interview with Asahi Breweries. "I have an appointment with another company today," he said.

The Japanese employment situation has been improving. Labor ministry data released earlier this week showed the ratio of job openings to job seekers in April surpassed the bubble economy high achieved in July 1990.

Students have advantages as many companies are focusing on them due to difficulty in securing talented workers through mid-career hiring, said Fusako Takei, a senior researcher at employment information company Disco Inc. (Jiji Press)