Entering June, with the arrival of the graduation season, the job search and employment of college students have once again become a hot topic of discussion.

According to relevant data, the number of college graduates in our country this year has reached 11.79 million, an increase of 210,000 compared to the same period last year.

The employment pressure is not to be underestimated, and the "involution" in the workplace seems to have become the norm.

However, recently Japan has experienced a "labor shortage," with companies of all sizes facing difficulties in recruiting.

To retain talent, companies are pulling out all the stops, showing their capabilities, and some Japanese company owners have even offered a bonus of 1 million yen (approximately 46,000 RMB) upon hiring!

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This news has directly astonished many people! Have Japanese workers actually ushered in an "era of reverse selection" in employment?

During this period, many Japanese media outlets have also reported: "Japanese graduates are in high demand, and employment has entered a 'super seller's market.'"

According to announcements from several Japanese media, the employment rate for college graduates this year is as high as 98.1%, which is almost the highest level in Japan since 1997.

Japanese company owners, in order to attract job seekers, are trying every possible means to lower their stance, which can be said to be full of sincerity.Japanese game company Capcom has increased the base salary for new employees by 27%;

Real estate company Bekkouchiku has given all new graduates a raise of 24,000 yen, equivalent to about 1100 RMB;

Mitsui Sumitomo Bank has added an extra 50,000 yen per month to the salaries of new employees who joined this year, equivalent to about 2300 RMB...

Many new graduates' starting salaries have already exceeded those of their older colleagues, which is both heartbreaking and envious, but also makes one have to sigh that this group of graduates has directly reached the "life peak" of employment!

However, despite this, business owners will still worry about not being able to retain people, increasing salaries, providing accommodation, and offering various benefits... In order to recruit people, Japanese companies are really full of tricks.

Automotive parts company Aisin Seiki has launched a recruitment slogan "100 million yen (about 4.6% of RMB) as a bonus for starting work" to start the recruitment war.

Nagoya Japan Information Co., Ltd.'s starting bonus is directly set at 20% of the employee's annual salary, with a cap of 1.5 million yen (equivalent to 70,000 RMB).

What's more, considering that new graduates may have aversion to the culture of overtime, they simply advertise:

Our company can take a full 129 days off in a year, even if you have to work overtime, we will calculate the overtime pay by the minute!

Girls who love beauty yearn for "nail freedom", so traditional companies change their old and stern temperament, and advertise that their employees can wear casual clothes to work, and they will issue office iPhones and iPads upon joining.It has to be said, in the current competitive job market with severe involution, Japanese fresh graduates have really hit a good time.

Under the temptation of various offers, it seems to make people think that the young people nowadays are not just going to work, but are going to "revolutionize" the workplace.

All a worker needs to do is to submit a resume, and they can easily get a satisfactory job in no time. But what is the real truth?

As Japan enters the "super seller's market" for employment, should the working people in the workplace be happy or worried?

The last time Japan saw a "super seller's market" for employment was in the late 1980s.

At that time, in order to attract fresh graduates to take up positions, companies promised to go on vacation to Hawaii and even gave money to fresh graduates who participated in the recruitment.

However, the talent rush at that time was based on the abnormal prosperity of the macro economy, while now it is mostly "thanks to" the gradual decline of the new population.

In the early 1990s, the Japanese bubble economy burst, and during the period of national economic downturn, it also encountered the financial crisis of 2008.

And the long-term sluggish Japanese economy has also started a "job ice age" that lasted for 20 years.

The employment rate plummeted at that time, and it almost became the norm for fresh graduates to send out 100 resumes without getting a chance for an interview.A significant number of recent graduates are choosing to stay in school and delay graduation; additionally, some young people have become NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) due to the inability to find employment, relying on their parents for support.

Even if they manage to secure a job, it is often a part-time position.

The difficult living conditions and unstable employment environment have caused Japan's already low birth rate to decline further.

By 2015, the number of 22-year-olds in Japan had nearly halved compared to over 20 years ago.

The labor supply and demand relationship began to reverse, leading to an uncontrollable imbalance, shifting from a situation where companies "didn't want to hire" to one where they "couldn't find hires," causing Japanese businesses to worry about recruitment.

In the context of a declining birth rate, recent graduates have become highly sought after, and the Japanese job market has entered a "super seller's market of reverse selection."

According to many Japanese media predictions, the "super seller's market of employment" where young people have the freedom to choose is likely to continue for some time.

Of course, how long this "good time" can last also depends on the policy and corporate response strategies that follow.

In fact, to address the difficulty in hiring, Japan has tried various methods.

According to a survey on the employment situation of the elderly published by Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, more than 23.5% of Japanese companies have introduced systems for delaying retirement and continuing employment.Additionally, even 3.9% of companies have chosen to abolish the retirement system.

There are currently about 2.62 million employees in enterprises whose age is over 60 but less than 64, 1.3 million employees aged 65-69, and approximately 930,000 employees over 70 years old.

Japanese companies are not only trying to maintain stable operations by delaying retirement, but they are also extending their recruitment scope more to female job seekers and high school graduates.

According to a report by the Japanese media NHK: due to the influence of labor demand on Japanese companies, high school students who are about to graduate are gradually becoming the top choice for major enterprises.

For example, in the famous Japanese Sekisui House Real Estate Group, high school graduates have already accounted for 43% of the main force on the construction site.

In Japan, it is not uncommon for high school graduates to join the workforce after graduation and engage in practical work, which is also a natural thing.

Although there are concerns about whether the experience of high school graduates is suitable for the current job positions when they fill the labor gap, the enthusiasm and ambition of young people are what the conservative Japanese society needs.

The recruitment person in charge of a Tokyo start-up company said:

"High school graduates and college students do not have a big gap in ability when they first enter the workplace. However, high school graduates accumulate practical work experience four years earlier, and the gap in ability will become very obvious."

High school graduates are gradually becoming the "new favorite" of corporate recruitment, which also brings more possibilities for changes in the Japanese job market.The Japanese government, in an effort to mitigate the myriad of issues stemming from a low birth rate, is also pinning its hopes on alleviating the labor shortage by introducing foreign workers or immigrants from overseas.

As of October 2023, the number of foreign nationals working in Japan has increased by 12.4% year-on-year, surpassing 2 million for the first time, with an approximate addition of 230,000 people compared to the previous year.

When categorized by nationality, there are about 520,000 Vietnamese working in Japan, accounting for 25.3% of the total. This is followed by 400,000 from China and 240,000 from the Philippines.

Japan has also established a "Specific Skills" visa, primarily aimed at easing the labor shortage across various industries in the country. However, applicants are currently required to pass relevant skill tests and Japanese language exams before they can seek employment in industries that are severely understaffed.

Nonetheless, whether it comes to talent introduction or the reality of fresh graduates' employment, it still depends on the specific companies and positions. Even in a seller's market for employment, large and reputable Japanese companies remain the absolute buyers' market at all times.

Many Japanese companies, eager to secure talent, have prematurely advanced their recruitment schedules, leaving many students completely unprepared. In the haste, it is challenging for them to secure their desired jobs.

Moreover, although the remuneration packages offered by Japanese companies this year may seem enticing, they also contain a significant amount of padding.

We can only say that while the "super seller's market" in the Japanese job market has allowed recent graduates to enjoy a period of "job picking," the true experience is a matter of personal perception, with each individual knowing their own situation best.With the adjustment of economic and labor market policies, it is highly likely that market tensions will gradually ease in the future. Moreover, the development of automation and AI may significantly change the structure of the labor market and reduce the demand for low-skilled labor. Therefore, whether it is career choice or immigration, a rational perspective is still necessary! Compared to the high employment rates reported by the media, it is more important for this generation of "hot cakes" to be able to support themselves! Not following blindly and having one's own career plan will lead to a longer journey. And being good at seizing opportunities and knowing how to improve oneself, regardless of the high or low employment rates, job seekers can be in the "seller's market" and get the good jobs they want!