SDS: Recruitment Agency
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Japanese companies to have 10% quota for foreigners

Foreign recruits trend in Japan

The article titled "Japan: Growing appetite for foreign recruits" on the Straits Times newspaper grabbed my attention in the end of last month.

It said that the interview etiquette shown by foreigners was as good as local Japanese college students who were looking for full-time jobs.

For example, Mr. Brendan White dressed in his "job hunt" black suit, shiny leather shoes, crisp white shirt, knows how to finesse his way into an interview room with Japanese style: You must close the door without turning away from the interviewers. Knock three times when you enter the room – not once, not twice.

Mr. Isao Ogake, director of global career and education at Disco, a job fair organiser, says that 48% of 800 middle-large sized companies plan to recruit non-Japanese college graduates. This percentage is on the rise, up from 35% of last year and 20% of a few years back.

"At many large corporations now, it is common to have a 10% target quota for internationals", he adds.

Mr. Tomoyuki Ichikawa, executive officer in the global business department at Pasona, another job fair host, has been encouraging internationals to embrace Japanese manners. "We want international students to be on the same playing fields as Japanese students. It would be sad if they are rejected on the basis of etiquette."

Hosting the Olympic Games in 2020, the demands for foreign talents will remain high. Foreigners working in Japan will obtain more sophisticated Japanese style etiquette.