Studying In Japan

An increasing number of foreign university students are staying in Japan to work after they graduate, with Japanese firms regarding such hires as potential assets in their efforts to expand operations overseas.

While the current economic recession may slow the hiring of foreign graduates, observers believe the trend is likely to increase in the long run.

Siyana Samsudeen joined Fujitsu Ltd. in 2007 after graduating from Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University in Oita Prefecture. The 26-year-old Sri Lankan holds the title of Bridge System Engineer, and liaises with Fujitsu's software development partners in China, India and other countries to ensure clients' requests are properly communicated.

"Bridge SEs will be needed more and more, so I think this job has good prospects for the future," she said.

Eugene Aksenov joined Fujitsu in 2007 after completing Tohoku University graduate school. Aksenov, a 26-year-old Australian national born in the former Soviet Union, works in the firm's Global Human Resources Management Division, providing clerical support for overseas branches.

"I hope to use my multilingual abilities to send messages abroad. One day, I want to work in an overseas branch myself," he said.

Kizo Tagomori, head of the firm's human resources recruitment center, said, "There's very little need for foreign staffers on the ground right now, but in five to 10 years there'll definitely be areas where they'll be useful."

Such positions could include working in overseas branches to act as mediators with offices in Japan.

The number of foreign students who changed their resident status after receiving a job offer from a Japanese firm--as Justice Ministry Immigration Bureau regulations allow in certain cases--numbered 10,262 in 2007, up 24 percent from the previous year. The 2007 figure was double that of 2004, and triple that of 2002.

Prof. Mitsuhide Shiraki, the dean of Waseda University's Center for International Education, said: "The number of Japanese people in the workforce will soon be decreasing by 300,000 to 400,000 per year. For firms to secure skilled personnel, employing foreign graduates will be more and more important."

The government hopes to increase the number of foreigners studying at tertiary level in Japan from the current 120,000 to 300,000 by around 2020. A plan drawn up in July calls for improved housing and job seeking support services for foreign students, to be mainly provided via a designated group of 30 universities.

Major staffing agency Pasona Inc. this year launched a Web site designed specifically for foreign students, a further indication of the private sector's interest in foreign graduates.

However, some outstanding issues are yet to be addressed.

Tagomori noted the dissonance between firms' recruiting priorities and the admissions policies of Japanese universities. While firms seek graduates with math and science majors, most foreign students accepted by universities here are liberal arts students.

Shiraki said firms also need to work on their approach to potential foreign recruits, saying: "Japanese firms don't map out the possible career course of a potential employee. This doesn't suit the thinking of foreign graduates, who tend to have clear career goals such as focusing on research or developing their management skills."

Japanese firms engaging greater numbers of skilled foreign workers is a recent development, and the success of such partnerships can not yet be fully assessed.

Hiroyuki Kaneda / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer