Because graduates are hired in one annual cycle, they join on the same day. At most large Japanese companies that is 1 April, the start of the fiscal and academic year, and the day begins with a ceremony. New hires in dark suits sit in rows. The president gives a speech on the company's values and the year ahead, a representative of the new cohort replies with a pledge, and senior executives are introduced. Companies with large intakes hire halls; smaller ones use a meeting room. The press reports the presidents' speeches each year as a barometer of corporate mood.
The ceremony is the formal end of the process that began with the naitei, often marked by an offer ceremony the previous October. It is followed by new employee training, and only after that are most new hires assigned to a department. Mid-career hires, who join throughout the year, do not have a ceremony.
The ritual has loosened a little. Some companies now hold it online or in a more casual format, and companies that hire graduates of overseas universities, who finish on a different calendar, often give them a separate autumn start.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Graduates expect a start, not just a first day. If you recruit Japanese graduates, a proper welcome on 1 April, with leadership present, is part of what they compare. A laptop and a login reads as indifference.
- The cohort becomes a network. People who join on the same day stay connected for decades. Even a small intake benefits from being treated as a group.
- It is a signal to parents too. Families of new graduates pay attention to how the company presents itself.
- Mid-career hires need their own version. They get no ceremony, so an explicit introduction to leadership matters more for them, not less.
Sources
- Common practice; the 1 April start follows the fiscal and academic year and the government's request on the graduate recruitment schedule.