Shukatsu is short for shushoku katsudo, job-hunting activity, and in Japan it means one thing above all: the collective search by university students for a first job that starts on 1 April after graduation. It has its own uniform (a plain dark recruit suit), its own documents (the entry sheet, a structured application form Sony is credited with pioneering), aptitude tests, group interviews and visits to alumni working at target companies.
The government publishes the schedule. For students graduating in 2027, employers are asked to begin publicity on 1 March of the third year, selection on 1 June of the final year, and formal offers from 1 October. Reality runs ahead of the schedule. Internships have become the main route into selection. Revised rules agreed by three ministries now let employers use what they learn about students in qualifying internships. Students with specialist skills identified through these internships can be moved into selection before June.
The whole cohort moves together, and most students hold an informal offer before selection officially opens. Shukatsu is also the shared formative experience of nearly every Japanese manager, which is one reason that changing employers later can feel like a bigger break than it does elsewhere.
What it means for a foreign employer
- Recruit on their calendar. A foreign company that hires graduates as it does at home, for a specific job close to the start date, finds the strongest students already committed.
- Internships are selection. If you want graduates, run structured internships that meet the qualifying standards, not just open days.
- Stability and reputation dominate students' choices. Students weigh how stable an employer looks and what their parents think of it. A foreign brand unknown in Japan has to explain itself.
- It shapes mid-career candidates too. Most people you interview went through shukatsu and joined a single employer. That shapes how they see a move, a title and job security.
Sources
- Cabinet Secretariat, request to employers on the recruitment schedule for students graduating in 2027.
- Revised three-ministry agreement (MEXT, MHLW and METI) on internships and their use in recruitment.