The recruiters and job-seekers gathered recently in a hall in central Tokyo looked serious but excited as they sat facing each other and talking across tables. But this wasn't an event pitching young men in suits against corporate managers.
On this occasion the recruiters were fishermen from some 40 ports around Japan, come to meet people interested in joining their industry.
"The work starts early in the morning and holidays are not regular. Is that all right for you?" a suntanned and athletically built fisherman from the Ogasawara Islands 1,000 km south of Tokyo asked Shoichi Izumi, a 36-year-old truck driver.