new hire clones top

Not so long ago, in a country far, far away….

It’s June, and if you’re a recent Japanese college graduate, chances are you’ve completed training and started your life as an employee of the company or organization where you’ll ideally spend the next several decades working.

But unlike many other countries in the world, Japanese companies tend to value their new hires being a “blank slate” rather than innovative and fresh talent. This is slowly changing, but still, the idea of a newly-hired employee being someone who the company can mold into whatever they need is very desirable.

Unfortunately, this “blank slate” requirement can sometimes go too far, as evidenced by this photo of a group of new hires at one Japanese organization:

▼ “CLONE TROOPERS!”

https://twitter.com/y_u9n/status/738163044811837440

This image is from a clip that aired on Japanese news, and the bit in the upper-right says: “Surprise ‘Company-Entry Ceremony’ for New Hires.” So while it seems like the news ignored the fact that there’s a clone army of businesswomen, it’s pretty much the first thing we, and the rest of the internet, saw.

Here’s what Japanese netizens had to say:

“They’re drones! Where is their queen?!”
“Even their hair is all the same….”
“The lack of individuality is painful.”
“Are they newly hired Matrix agents?”
“How do you even interview and pick people from a group like this?”
“Unfortunately this is a normal, accepted sight in Japan.”

While that commenter is certainly right for the majority of top Japanese companies, we do have to say that Japan is slowly – albeit very slowly – getting better. With new laws changing hiring practices, and young professionals rebelling against some of the more ridiculous rules, perhaps Japanese companies may start hiring new employees based on how they’re already molded, not how they can be molded.

Source: Twitter/@y_u9n via TOYCHAN
Featured/top image: Twitter/@paipu_