Regarding the Dec. 25 editorial "Tough times for graduating students": Although the hiring picture for American university graduates next June is slightly better than last year, it is hardly cause for exhaling. That's because of the heavy debt that large numbers of students carry. In the United States at least, student debt cannot be discharged. Even if this is not the case in Japan, recent graduates still suffer a stiff blow to their egos when they cannot find work in line with their qualifications.
Lofty rhetoric about the worth of a degree goes only so far in comforting them. In the final analysis, high school students are better advised to consider vocational courses of study that prepare them for jobs that cannot be offshored.
The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.