The University of Tokyo has called on companies to stop using pressure tactics on job-hunting students to get their preferred candidates to give up considering rival firms.
The request by Japan's most prestigious university comes as such practices have become problematic in recent years as companies compete fiercely to secure employees amid a chronic labor shortage.
The pressure takes various forms, such as obliging students who have received informal job offers to frequently attend social gatherings, endure long hours of job training or participate in study trips, thus preventing them from exploring opportunities with other firms, experts in labor issues said.