The word has an unflattering origin. It was used for a daughter who returned to her parents' home after a marriage ended, and when applied to employees it carried a similar sense: someone who left, failed, and came back. Under lifetime employment, leaving was seen as a breach of loyalty, and many companies would not re-hire.
That view has changed. With a shrinking workforce and more mid-career movement, employers have started to see former staff as low-risk hires: they know the culture, the systems and the people, and they bring outside experience back with them. Many large Japanese companies now describe their re-hiring programmes as alumni hiring and run alumni networks, websites or events to keep contact with leavers. Recruitment industry surveys in 2024 found that a substantial minority of companies, and a majority of large ones in some surveys, had re-hired former employees or ran alumni programmes. A smaller share of employees say they have returned themselves, though many more say they would consider it.
Re-hires are usually treated as mid-career hires. Previous service may or may not count towards seniority, leave or retirement allowances, depending on the company.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Your leavers are a candidate pool. A Japan business with high turnover has a large alumni base. Keep contact, especially with people who left for Japanese companies.
- Boomerangs run both ways. Candidates who left a Japanese company for a foreign one may be courted back, sometimes with a promotion. Keep that in mind when you make offers.
- Decide service rules in advance. Whether prior years count for leave, retirement allowance and seniority should be settled before the offer, not negotiated after.
- Exit well. How someone leaves decides whether they return, and how they speak about you to the candidates you want next.
- Give the alumni relationship an owner. Somebody in the Japan organisation has to keep in touch, mark leavers' successes and give them reasons to stay connected. Most foreign subsidiaries don't, and the ones that do have a measurable hiring advantage.
Sources
- Recruitment industry surveys on alumni and re-hiring, 2024 (including Mynavi Career Research Lab).
- Employer practice; treatment of prior service is set by each company's work rules.