Spring Hiring Goes Wild: Japan’s Companies Are Doing Their Own Thing
Every April, Japanese firms line up fresh-faced graduates for a massive hiring spree. It’s a ritual so ingrained it’s practically a national holiday: you get the same starting salary, the promise of steady raises, and—surprise!—lifetime employment. But that old-school system is slowly getting an overdose of Silicon Valley vibes. Companies like Rakuten, SoftBank, and Line Corp are pulling the trigger on talent before it’s even graduate‑season, paying top‑notch tech wizards more than the rest of the crowd.
Why the Shake‑up?
- Japan’s labor market is tightening; there are 1.62 jobs per applicant—a 44‑year high.
- Government and the Bank of Japan want a flexible market that lifts wages and revives consumer spending.
- Merit‑based pay is feeling cooler than the old‑fashioned “seniority = salary” rules.
Take Takashi Murakami, a 23‑year‑old producer at Mercari, the flea‑market app that got everyone talking. He’s said, “I’m grateful that the company seems to value me with pretty good pay, and I already got a pay hike after joining the company, which motivated me to work even harder.” Career‑ladders based on age? Not in his book.
Mercari’s Playbook
Mercari has been hiring from all over the year since it realised talent doesn’t drop in order on April 1. It even invites students in their second and third years. They run a “Mergrads” programme to coach fresh graduates, and since last April, they’ve boosted salaries for those with IT engineering or coding chops.
“The competition is surely heating up,” said Ayano Okuda, Mercari’s hiring lead. “We judge each individual’s ability and offer them attractive salaries reflecting their skills.”
Break‑the‑Clock Hiring
For decades, Japan ran a choreographed hiring timetable. Keidanren, the biggest business lobby, set a loose schedule that companies usually followed: recruit starts March 1, interview June 1, make offers October 1—six months before graduation. The entry‑level pay hovered around 200,000 ¥ a month. But up‑and‑coming talent‐hungry firms are ditching this rhythm.
- CyberAgent went rid‑off of uniform starting pay, offering 4.5 M to 7.2 M ¥, and beyond for its IT engineers.
- These hires can earn more than their senior counterparts—no seniority stair‑case, just raw talent.
Yuko Ishida of CyberAgent says, “We face stiff competition in securing able workers. Our competitors are offering better salaries for high‑quality workers, so we believe we can attract the best by paying appropriately.”
The Great Debate
Some fear a merit‑based revolution could unbalance Japan’s long‑standing social order. Hisashi Yamada, an economist at the Japan Research Institute, warned, “If this spreads across corporate Japan, it would mean a collapse of our employment system. That would cause a disparity among workers, uneven distribution of work and loss of motivation among those who feel left behind.”
Yamada’s solution? A careful mix: keep an internal sense of order while rewarding performance and skills. And the government needs to push for a more flexible job market.
The Bottom Line
Japan’s hiring scene is shifting from a predictable, loyalty‑based pattern to a bumpy, merit‑oriented ride. Companies pay more to those that shine, and the country’s leaders are cheering this for the hope of higher wages and boosted consumption. The age of lifetime employment may be fading, but the East meets West in the workforce—now that’s a story worth telling.