As Japan's youngsters dwindle in number, major companies sent recruiters to Singapore recently to interview high-flying university graduates from elsewhere in Asia.
Tokyo-based recruitment firm Recruit Career Co. arranged for seven companies to interview about 60 foreign students with a view to hiring the continent's best and brightest.
It is unprecedented for Japanese companies to go to Southeast Asia to hire fresh graduates from local universities to bring them back to Japan. Until now, they have generally only hired foreign students who studied in Japan — and for positions at their subsidiaries overseas.