Tenshoku Sodan Bar seeks to fill a need that’s not served by the traditional job-hunting process.
job hunting
Anything’s OK, just nothing too natural, or unnatural, or unflattering, or revealing, or stodgy… but, you know, anything is OK.
With jobs getting harder to find, it’s important that more people have the chance to be hired.
Women in Japan are often required to wear heels for job hunting and office work, but the #KuToo movement wants to squash that part of the dress code.
Hair care brand shines a light on outdated practice that forces women to sport the “job-hunting hairstyle” in order to gain employment.
Getting turned down for a job hurts, but one company wants to do what it can to help job-hunters bounce back from a rejection.
When a company ensures that everyone deserves a second chance, it’s a company worth working for.
If an interplanetary warlord can’t land a job in this economy what hopes do the rest of us have?
Traditionally, Japanese resumes are handwritten on a special form. Recently, however, typed resumes are becoming more common – and one recruiter is not happy about this. Writing anonymously on Japanese website Hatelabo, the blogger, who works for a chain restaurant in Japan and is involved in recruitment, sets out his reasons for why an applicant who submits a typewritten resume should be the first to find their application on the “no” pile.
“You young people, don’t you have any common sense?” he asks of applicants with the typed resumes. “Are you crazy? In my day, this would have been unimaginable!” Let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the handwritten CV.
As any young Japanese college graduate can attest, Japan’s hellish job hunting process can be one of the most stressful and demotivating periods of a person’s life. Numerous rejections, along with that feeling of isolation after seeing those around you get job offers, is enough to make anyone severely depressed.
So what does that have to do with a gas company, you ask? A commercial by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd. which features a girl in the midst of the job hunting process has been stirring up controversy and was even taken off the air. Why? Apparently, its portrayal of the painful job hunting process was so accurate that it left people feeling a little too miserable after seeing it.
As far as things not to say in an interview go, you’d think it’d be pretty high up on the list. But the young Japanese university student, rejected by all the other companies he’d applied to, was prepared to take the risk. “This company is the only option I have left,” he pleaded with the interviewer. “I’ll do anything!” An unusual strategy, certainly. But he got the job.
Japanese site Niconico News reports that the man is now entering his ninth year of employment with the company, so it seems the gamble paid off. But is the company’s positive reaction so unusual? Some Japanese employability experts are arguing that, for many companies, the ideal graduate recruit is a “hakushi” – a blank page that the company can do what they want with. When companies train new recruits extensively, an across-the-board willingness to learn is valued more than previous experience.
During Japan university students’ final year, many go through a long, physically and mentally draining process of finding a job before they graduate; a process known as “shuukatsu.” Students don matching black suits and attend job fairs, company briefing sessions and employment seminars en masse in the hopes of obtaining a job offer, or “naitei.” Young people often complain about the soul-sucking system and how difficult it can be to land a job offer without completely abandoning your personality along the way.
Recently, an animated short film has been making waves among Japanese netizens for the horror movie-like way it portrays the difficult and often depressing job hunting process in Japan.

















New Kyoto Converse sneakers celebrate Japan with traditional kimono fabrics for your feet
Studio Ghibli launches huge new anime movie T-shirt collection with special design details
Japanese convenience store gives away free ice cream with creative ad at Shinjuku Station
Japan’s 5.3 million beautiful Hitachi Nemophila flowers are now in full bloom[Photos]
And now, a video of the voice of Dragon Ball’s Goku meeting the Emperor and Empress of Japan
Wisteria season starts early with blooming of Japan’s Great Wisteria in its beautiful garden
Buddhist priest arrested for using health insurance card he found on the street
The results are in! One Piece World Top 100 characters chosen in global poll
How to do an overnight bus trip to Hirosaki from Tokyo – Part 2【Photos】
Japanese spoon puts electrical field in your mouth to trick you into tasting salt, now on sale
Brand-new Pokémon manhole covers coming to help the recovery of a disaster-stricken part of Japan
Japan’s awesomely beautiful Alpen Route snow corridor is now open
Move aside, convenience store egg sando – there’s a better version of the iconic sandwich in Japan
Pokémon hot spring footbath opening in Japan this spring
Studio Ghibli croquettes not to eat, but to keep your stuff in, going on sale in Japan[Photos]
Japan’s popular bead bonsai kit is as beautiful as it is gruelling to make
Secret staff cafeteria in Tokyo is a hidden gem you won’t find in travel guides
Tinder just opened a convenience store in Japan, aimed at adults only
Japan reportedly adding Japanese language skill requirement to most common foreigner work visa
Pokémon and Ikea Japan cross over into each other’s worlds with collaboration events
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
Japan’s best conveyor belt sushi restaurant of seven years ago has now, finally, come to Tokyo
Famous Tokyo cherry blossom spot installs view-blocking screens to fight overcrowding[Video]
Uniqlo announces new T-shirts for One Piece, Naruto and more for manga publisher’s 100th birthday
Survey asks foreign tourists what bothered them in Japan, more than half gave same answer
Japan’s human washing machines will go on sale to general public, demos to be held in Tokyo
Starbucks Japan releases new drinkware and goods for Valentine’s Day
We deeply regret going into this tunnel on our walk in the mountains of Japan
Starbucks Japan releases new sakura goods and drinkware for cherry blossom season 2026
Studio Ghibli releases Kodama forest spirits from Princess Mononoke to light up your home
Japan’s newest Shinkansen has no seats…or passengers [Video]
Major Japanese hotel chain says reservations via overseas booking sites may not be valid
Put sesame oil in your coffee? Japanese maker says it’s the best way to start your day【Taste test】
No more using real katana for tourism activities, Japan’s National Police Agency says
Wisteria season starts early with blooming of Japan’s Great Wisteria in its beautiful garden
Buddhist priest arrested for using health insurance card he found on the street
The results are in! One Piece World Top 100 characters chosen in global poll
How to do an overnight bus trip to Hirosaki from Tokyo – Part 2【Photos】
Japanese spoon puts electrical field in your mouth to trick you into tasting salt, now on sale
Japan now has a special desk for people who work at home with a pet cat[Photos]
At under a buck, Tokyo restaurant’s all-you-can-eat fried chicken is a ticket to poultry paradise
Japan’s awesomely beautiful Alpen Route snow corridor is now open
Downtown Tokyo’s meaty monster Kaibutsu ramen will challenge your stomach, thrill your taste buds
Life-size Nier: Automata sword going on sale, includes 2B’s voice if you swing it the right way