Japan's top univ. asks firms to stop pressuring job-hunting students

 The University of Tokyo has called on companies to stop using pressure tactics on job-hunting students to get their preferred candidates to give up considering rival firms, Kyodo reports. 

The request by Japan's most prestigious university comes as such practices have become problematic in recent years as companies compete fiercely to secure employees amid a chronic labor shortage.

The pressure takes various forms, such as obliging students who have received informal job offers to frequently attend social gatherings, endure long hours of job training or participate in study trips, thus preventing them from exploring opportunities with other firms, experts in labor issues said.

In the worst cases, students are ordered to call other companies on the spot to declare that they will no longer consider finding jobs with them or sign a document promising to join a particular company if they wish to receive an informal employment offer from it, according to the experts.

"It is strongly advised that actions that are detrimental to the freedom of choice in employment or perceived as harassment, such as compelling students to cease their job hunting against their will, should be refrained from," the university said in a statement dated Oct. 24.

The statement also urged companies to instruct their employees in charge of recruitment not to engage in sexual harassment by "taking advantage of the weakness of students wishing to secure jobs."

In Japan, where the academic year begins in April, companies hire new graduates in bulk each year, and university students typically start their job hunting about a year before their scheduled graduation in March.

Member companies of the Japan Business Federation follow guidelines from the country's most powerful business lobby, which permit them to conduct job orientation sessions for juniors from March and begin interviewing and other screening processes in June, with formal offers supposed to be granted in October.

The situation surrounding such pressure tactics has gradually improved since the issue emerged several years ago. A government survey showed the percentage of students who have experienced such practices stood at 10.9 percent in fiscal 2022, which ended in March, compared with 19.9 percent in fiscal 2015 when the survey began.

However, eliminating the custom is difficult in a tight labor market because many students tend to continue their job hunting and seek more attractive companies after receiving one or more informal offers at an early stage, the experts said.