Many firms hold welcome ceremonies for new employees

April 2, 2018

Tokyo- Many Japanese companies welcomed new recruits at ceremonies held on Monday, the first weekday of fiscal 2018, with top executives voicing expectations that rookies will perform dynamically in a rapidly changing business environment.

Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda welcomed the automobile giant's new employees at the company's head office in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, central Japan.

He told the fresh recruits that they are living in "an era of change."

To survive intensifying competition to develop electric vehicles and self-driving cars, Toyoda said he wants to turn the company into a team whose members work together to carve out a new future.

Major electronics maker Panasonic Corp. , which marked its 100th anniversary in March, held a ceremony to welcome its new employees in Hirakata, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan.

"Let's build the new 100 years together," President Kazuhiro Tsuga said.

Meanwhile, the presidents of scandal-hit firms, including machinery and electronics maker Toshiba Corp., pledged fresh starts to achieve revival.

At a welcome ceremony in Tokyo, Nobuaki Kurumatani, former deputy president of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. who became Toshiba's chief executive officer as of Sunday, said, "Toshiba has been in extremely difficult times over three years, including the period following the revelation of accounting irregularities."

"I'm determined to revive Toshiba as a global company representing Japan," Kurumatani said.

As Toshiba skipped regular hiring of new graduates in fiscal 2017 due to a severe downturn in its earnings, Monday's welcome ceremony marked the first it has held in two years.

Kobe Steel Ltd. , hit by a product quality data manipulation scandal, did not open its welcome ceremony to the press.

According to the steelmaker, Mitsugu Yamaguchi, who became its president as of Sunday, said to the newcomers, "My biggest mission is to promote drastic reforms of governance and corporate culture." Jiji Press