Japan Officially Starts 2027 Graduate Job Recruitment on June 1

Job recruitment activities for college students scheduled to graduate in spring 2027 officially began in Japan on June 1, 2026. Trading house Itochu began interviewing applicants online that day, while Daiichi Life Insurance launched in-person interviews. A student was interviewed for a job at a company in Tokyo on June 1.

The Japanese government imposes a nonbinding ban on the recruitment of new graduates every year until May 31 to allow students to concentrate on academic activities. The ban begins about nine months prior to graduation. As of May 1, 2026, 76% of students seeking jobs starting April 2027 had already received informal employment pledges, according to a survey by Career-tasu.

Nojima launched interviews with prospective 2027 graduates as early as September 2025 and made unofficial job offers in November 2025. Nojima made the November 2025 offers because rival firms had begun their moves, the major appliance retailer’s public relations official said. Daiichi Life Insurance is set to abolish job location transfers without prior consent in April 2027.

Companies are capitalizing on internship programs to enclose high-potential graduates. “As students have increasingly been joining companies that are the first to make informal job offers, we need to act early,” a recruitment official at a major restaurant chain said.