It's spring, and the attention of journalists in Japan turns to new university graduates who will soon become productive members of society. In recent years, the recruitment dance has merited closer scrutiny. Even as the labor situation has become a seller's market, issues persist with regard to employee status and workloads.
Kyodo News conducted a survey of 86 national universities in January, and while only 11 responded, those 11 reported that a good portion of their grads have complained that the reality of corporate life was different from what they expected based on employers' job ads and interviews.
Schools can only do so much. Tokushima University said it warns students during the recruitment process about companies that lied in the past, and Nagasaki University offers "career education lectures" for job seekers that teach them basic labor law. According to Mitsuko Uenishi, a professor at Hosei University quoted in a March 22 Tokyo Shimbun article, many new grads don't report such issues to their universities since they think it's their own responsibility to look out for their own interests and make the proper decision.