FOR PROMOTING EMPLOYMENT AND ACTIVITIES OF EXCHANGE STUDENTS IN JAPANESECOMPANIES- Through hearing investigation of former exchange students - (summary version)
Shizuoka University International Center

0. Summary of the Investigation
Period: August and September 2009
Method:_ In June 2009, we requested higher education institutions in Shizuoka Prefecture to
introduce us to former exchange students who are now working at Japanese companies.
Then we started collecting agreement on the hearing and question sheet from 13 persons(hereinafter referred to as A to M).
_ We started a hearing investigation for about 1 hour each to those 13 persons in August and
September 2009.

Persons of concern: 13 former exchange students who graduated from higher education institutes in
Shizuoka Prefecture and then were employed by Japanese companies (Refer to Table 1).
Investigator: 1 teaching staff from Shizuoka University International Center

1. How to Join a Company and the Reason
1-1. How to Join a Company and the Job Descriptions (Refer to Table 1) [pp-72-76]
The investigation on how to join the company shows that 4 persons of A, B, I and J freely applied forthe job at the companies they are currently working, 3 persons of C, F and K are working at thecompanies they used to work as a part-timer while they were students, 2 persons, G and L used a jobplacement office to work at the current company, only 1 person, D, is working at a company who was acustomer at the time of the student, only 1 person, E, is working at a company through an introduction bya friend, only 1 person, H, is working at a company through a recommendation of the university, and only
1 person, M, is working at a laboratory office at the time as a student. B who freely applied for a job wasintroduced by the Employment Assistance Department of the university while A, I, and J used the
Employment Assistance Department of the university in order to obtain relevant information and advice.
For G and L who used a job-placement office for their job search, it was the second company for G andthe third company for L to be working with. Both of them started working at a company through an
introduction by an instructing staff at the time of graduating from the university.
For the information about the companies they started working for, A, H, I, and J obtained throughtheir job searching activities. C, F, K, and M experienced to involve service as a part-timer before theystarted working so that they could grasp the atmospheres of the companies while B, D, and E rarely
obtained company information when they were employed.
Although L majored in electric and electronics engineering, L was working as an SE in a webdevelopment company. Furthermore, in the case of G and L, as an exchange student who the completed
graduate courses, they had working experience before the entry to the university and their ages may
correspond to those under mid-carrier employment. In case of a mid-carrier employment, the employees
often start services immediately after the entry to the company, and time needed for training purposes canoften be eliminated. It is presumed that exchange students often obtained recruitment information about
the company through a briefing session for new graduates; however, it is thought more useful information
can be obtained for some exchange students through a job-placement office.

1-2. Reasons to Join a Company [pp.76-80]
Reasons include "emphasis on developing human resources," "famous company," "internationallydeveloping," and "higher technology," "good place to use and utilize a result of what was learned," "canfulfill one’s potentiality," and "can obtain a residence status." It tells that they joined the companies
because it was not a means to obtain a residence status, but also a chance to fulfill and improve one’s
performance.

However, some former exchange students changed their determination after the entry.

1-3. Job Description at the Time of Employment and the Present One [pp.80-84]
Although 8 persons were doing a job instructed at the time of employment, 5 persons were doing a
job different from the one instructed at the time of employment.
B was in charge of a job overseas (own country); however, it was changed to a domestic job after 1
year. On the contrary, E and I were in charge of a domestic job; they also became in charge of an overseas(own countries) job. This was because an attending person for an overseas (own country) job resigned
after their entry.
D was assigned to domestic sales as customer service training and continues to work in the same
section because no attending job for overseas tourists was present when D was informed before entry.
Although K, who is an engineer now, was in an Administrative and Control Department, matching the
major in the university, for half of the year after the entry, the job was changed because one engineer
resigned. In addition to a session and in-house training, D was also self-learning to maintain the job.
H and J were notified at the time of entry about a job for contacting overseas in the future, and they
were developing their carriers through domestic jobs for the time being. However, it was not clear when
they started attending overseas jobs due mainly to the company policy.

2. Present Satisfactory Ratio [pp84-88]
A satisfactory ratio greatly depends on the gap between the present job description and the one
indicated at the time of the entry and human relationships.
As described at “1-2 Reasons to Join a Company (p.81),” it was D whose job indicated before entry
was not present after entry, and an attending the job was not fixed for 10 months. Even the answer from B
as mentioned below told us that a forecast from the conditions and information indicated before entry wasdifferent from the present state. The gap hereof suggests it was a factor to decrease the satisfactory ratio
leading to leaving the job.
Furthermore, the satisfactory ratio to the present state also depends on the fact of whether or not they
had known and understood the working conditions before entry. D only knew the salary amount and theworking conditions after entry. F stated that F had never known about the accurate salary amount before
signing a contract. There was a big difference in L whose satisfactory ratio of the salary was not so highbut L approached the contract with the knowledge of the working conditions from the beginning.
Meanwhile, it was reluctant for I to join the company with the job; however, I had felt the
improvement at work and became confident so that I stayed at the job. From an answer from J, it was
obvious that the atmosphere of the company and what J wanted to do were prioritized instead of thesatisfactory ratio of the salary.
However, it was not only a criterion of the satisfactory ratio with the gap between the conditions
indicated before entry and a forecast from the information. A satisfactory ratio varies from whether or not
maintaining a good human relationship. D mentioned that no good human relationship could be expected
due to in-house conveniences in addition to a gap between the present job description and the one
indicated before entry. Unlike D, the company that G immediately started working after graduation gave
G a job description that G expected to get, and G intended to work long; however, G left the job becauseof a problem with the human relationship with the superior.
Although I joined the company whose line of service was exactly different from what I expected, thehuman relationship was so good that I had maintained the job until now. K who had graduated from anacademic faculty had a hard time doing the job requiring a science education when the job was changed
half a year after entry; K said "I like to do so now" because of the good human relationships.

3. Qualities and Abilities Required for a Job [pp.88-92]
Half of the former exchange students thought it was necessary after entry as a resource and ability tohave the ability to do, ability to plan, language (mainly Japanese) skill, ability to discover challenges,

flexibility, expertise and skills for conducting a job, ability to know a situation, and knowledge on
Japanese culture and society. Among them, what were particularly recognized necessary were the ability
to do (4/8 persons), ability to plan (1/8 persons), language skill (2/8 persons), flexibility (3/7 persons),
expertise and skills for conducting a job (4/7 persons), and knowledge on Japanese culture and society(2/6 persons). Three out of 5 former exchange students pointed out independence. The resources andabilities hereabove are recognized necessary irrespectively in a job type.

4. Japanese Skills Required for Conducting a Job [pp.92]
Except G and L, all had passed the second level of the Japanese Language Aptitude Test. (Refer toTable 1) Furthermore, they had long stayed in Japan. A sum of the period at being registered at theuniversity through starting to work was simply between 5 and 10 years in Japan. All used Japanese atwork.

4-1. Japanese Proficiency Skills Required on the Job [pp.93-95]
For the category of Japanese proficiency skills required on the job, most former exchange students
mentioned the skills of dialog on the job, documentation, and ability for precise description, particularly
precise description and documentation were mentioned more.

4-2. Japanese Language Aptitude after Entry [pp.95-100]
Each of them basically had some level of Japanese language aptitude, and had long stayed in Japan.
However, more answers mention that they had felt a lacking of Japanese language aptitude; particularly,
they had mentioned that they had a difficulty in using an expression required on the job and a polite
expression after entry even with a high Japanese language aptitude. Most of them had improved their
Japanese language skills through language training and routines better than that at entry; however, it took
3 months to one year.
2 SEs (H and J) had felt they had lacked a hybrid Japanese aptitude so as to catch and write thelanguage required for a meeting minutes instead of a single skill.
However, a part of the Japanese skills was not so required to be at a higher level depending on thejob in a case may be. G mentioned that G was involved in creating a drawing on designing a machine, andless often wrote Japanese. C mentioned that C was involved in an interpreting and translating job;however, had less chance to write Japanese, the same as G because the company suspected the Japaneseskills of foreign employees and did not require these foreign employees to do a job related to writing
Japanese as a presumption.

5. Images of Japanese and Foreign Employees
5-1. Image of Japanese Employees [pp.100-105]
In an investigation with a question sheet, 6 persons had basically had an image that all Japaneseemployees were always serious and work hard. But after entry (started working) , some of them answeredthat the image had changed, saying that not necessarily all of the Japanese employees are serious all thetime; however, many of them had recognized that Japanese employees are serious and dedicated. With
this respect, some answers included that they always thought about jobs, and superior was everything
presumably as a result of being too serious. Some others had answered that they had strongly felt a
difference in recognition to an abstract concept such as cooperativeness from that of Japanese employees.
Even in “3. Qualities and Capabilities Required for a Job (pp.88-92.),” the same concept was expressed ina different expression between former exchange students. Since it was difficult to indicate a specificobject in an abstract concept, a variance would be possibly caused between the understanding of a speaker(writer) and that of a listener (reader). To a speaker (writer), precise description would be required more.
Some had commented that they did not understand why female employees were treated and promoted
differently from male employees.

5-2. Image of Foreign Employees by Japanese Employees [pp.105-107]
Then, let us focus on how Japanese employees felt about foreign employees. In some answers, they
had never thought how Japanese employees felt about foreign employees while there were answers that a
specific image was fixed, and a no specific image was fixed. In a case of a specific image was fixed,
positive and negative images were answered on a half-and-half basis.

6. Foresight and Prospects [pp.108-113]
In a form of company and employment, more answers were in “Work as it is now” (6 persons), “Notyet decided” (3 persons), “Work as it is or Start a new business” (2 persons), and “Work at a different
company” (2 persons) in this order. In a line of business and jobs, more answers were in “Being in chargeof administrating job such as human resources” (6 persons), “Not yet decided” (4 persons), Working at asite” (= same as the present job, 2 persons), and “Being in charge of administrating and control job” (1person) in this order. In the residence, what were answered were “Keep living in Japan” (7 persons), “Notyet decided” (4 persons), “Returning to one’s own country” (1 person), and “Going to a different country”(1 person). A trend was seen that they wished to involve in a different job with the current state
maintained in a form of company and employment, and of residence.

Although a trend seemed to tell that most of them had thought of the foresight and prospects up to
the present irrespective of being married or unmarried people, G and J had planned even when they werein their own countries that they would work and live in Japan after coming to Japan. It was obvious toconfirm the intention to resist in Japan in a case of coming to Japan with a specific plan hereof. In view ofan answer on residence, a form of company and employment would become obvious to some extent.

7. Burdens after Entry [pp.113-118]
A hearing investigation had found various burdens present after entry besides communications inJapanese.
First, it was listed that they should become accustomed to a job. C and I mentioned that they had a
hard time becoming accustomed to the job itself. A and K had difficulty because they were assigned to a
job that required knowledge and skill different from those required for the study at the university. J had a
hard time effectively processing the job by reflecting an attitude towards the study at the university, and J
mentioned it was still under improvement.
Answers of D and E told that former exchange students had different feelings against Japaneseculture and company in-house culture even though they had stayed long in Japan. Both D and E had anexperience with working in their own countries; thus, they had a high consciousness as a working person
before working at a Japanese company. Comments from D and E who had faced problems based on theunderstanding of Japan and Japanese people included various suggestions on employing exchange
students.
An attitude afterwards would be drastically different depending on the chance available freely
consulting or complaining whenever these difficulties hereabove may arise. As A states however, theformer exchange students were in a circumstance too different from where they came from so that they
could not talk to their parents on their own life experiences in most cases. As D states, it was therefore
also important to talk and share difficulties at work with the employees who joined the company in thesame year or the associates in the same section.
F was in charge of a job of which segment was obvious with high independency. Thus, F was also
irritated that F could not improve one’s own ability at work because F had no chance to get involved in a
job except for the job assigned.

Statement of I told that it was a really a hard time to come to understandthat relationships at work were something different from which was established at the university.

8. Knowledge and Skills that should have been acquired during School [pp. 118-122]
Former exchange students, based on their work experiences, named various examples of skills andknowledge that they felt they should have acquired during school.

Such skills include “English skills,”“computer skills,” “specialized skills needed for performing business,” and “Japanese skills.”

In

addition, “certification acquisition,” “knowledge of the culture and customs of Japanese companies,”“communication skills” and the “correct attitude to study” were also named.

Certifications areespecially considered to increase options when changing a job. Although it might be difficult to gain
knowledge about the culture and customs of Japanese companies while in school, others can be acquired
during school.

9. For Exchange Students to Flourish in Japanese Society and Companies after Graduation[pp.122-129]
There are many opinions around the point that one must gain knowledge about Japanese society andthe culture of Japanese companies through part-time jobs and social activities and personally understandit.

On the other hand, it is also practically true that you cannot understand these things unless you are on

the inside of Japanese society and culture. Therefore, there were several answers stating that one must
recognize his or her strengths and think about what role he or she would play in the company as anorganization. As discussed in “7. Challenges after Entering the Company (p.113-118),” exchange
students usually do not have families whom they can consult with more life experience, and as H and M
states, emotional stability is an important factor.
Moreover, in order for exchange students to flourish and advance in Japanese society and companies,
a high level of Japanese language ability with which they can correspond with clients and business
partners is necessary, as E, I, J, L and M emphasize.

10. For Japanese Companies to Ease their Fear of Hiring Exchange Students
10-1. Opinions of Former Exchange Students on the Fear that Companies Have [pp. 129-133]
Table 2: Fear about Employing Exchange Students (136 companies in Shizuoka)
Fear or risks by when employing
international students

Total

Japanese language problem
Lack of Japanese social/business skills
Loss of confidential knowledge
Lack of cooperation between
international staff

JapaneseandOlder than Japanese students
Will quit a job in a short span of time to returnhome or change jobs

Have employed

Want to employ

No employment

36.8

32.1

46.7

36.0

26.5

33.9

20.0

22.0

14.7

16.1

13.3

14.0

32.4

23.2

46.7

34.0

14.7

7.1

16.7

22.0

55.9

42.9

56.7

70.0

Difficult visa procedure
Possibilities of no applicants
Other

24.3

17.9

40.0

22.0

4.4

1.8

6.7

6.0

7.4

5.4

0

6.0

(Shizuoka Prefecture Council for Promotion of Foreign Student Exchange (2008) from “A Survey on Exchange Students’ Ideas of Employment andCompanies’ Ideas of Employing Exchange Students in Shizuoka Prefecture”)

When asked for their impression on Table 2, some former exchange students made comments on theanswer “Will quit a job in a short span of time to return home or change jobs (55.9%),” such as “Even if
someone wants to teach, it is meaningless if the new employee returns home soon.”On the other hand,

others also made comments like “The rate of leaving jobs among young Japanese people has been
increasing regardless of their gender,” stating that it is not unique to exchange students.

Regarding thepoint “Japanese language problem (36.8%), while recognizing the importance of Japanese language
competence, there were comments stating that language is not the only problem: “It can be solved throughefforts of the company and exchange students,” “They should not hire people with language problems,”
and “Japanese people sometimes cannot understand each other, so companies that think ‘language’ is thebiggest problem have shallow thinking.”

On the point “Lack of cooperation between Japanese andinternational staff (32.4%),” the only comment made was “It can be solved through efforts of thecompany and exchange students.”

However, as A states in “5-1. Images of Japanese Staff,” the different

perceptions on the word “cooperation” should be considered.

Regarding “Lack of Japanesesocial/business skills (26.5%),” some suspected that companies cannot let exchange students correspondwith clients due to their lack of Japanese skills.

Regarding “Difficult visa procedure (24.3%),” there wasan opinion that it might not be that troublesome once the documents are prepared.

10-2. Causes of Companies’ Fear and Strategies to Remove it [pp. 133-147]
Former exchange students named causes from the side of the companies and that of exchange
students.
First of all, one of the causes of fear on the companies’ side is that there is fundamentally no clear
reason for employing an international staff. As G and H states, for positions that can be performed
either by Japanese or an international staff, many companies tend to hire Japanese who pose less fear
factors such as lack of Japanese skills and leaving the country. They pointed out that this is because of
the ambiguity of why companies should hire an international staff, which results in their unpreparedenvironment to receive an international staff, as well as the lack of learning by the Japanese staff about
the international staff and other cultures.

Moreover, it is suspected that some exchange students, eventhough they are hired, are still continuing to work without really understanding their role.

First of all,companies might not have a basic structure to employ exchange students, thereby lacking awareness andunable to raise them as talented staff or utilize them. The indication that Japanese companies and thegovernment are behind in responding to globalization is important.

In order to improve such a situation,

as A states, it is necessary to examine, plan and implement how companies can globalize themselves andwhat steps are needed for that purpose.

However, unless the purpose and the process of realizing theidea are not shared by the entire system including the practice level and not just the upper managementlevel, there is fear of “shake and distortion(p.142)” pointed out by H.

In the process of holistic

globalization or as a result of it, the ambiguous fear of employing exchange students will be dissolved,
and companies will be able to appropriately utilize a talented workforce.
In contrast, as a cause on the side of exchange students, the point that they have a low awarenessabout employment and have insufficient preparation was raised. That is, as a result of doing a job hunt
without a clear sense of what they want to do, they would end up with unsatisfactory employment.
Employment without any plan or awareness is not challenging.

Exchange students should decide on

their employers upon researching companies and conducting self analysis, in addition to learning
sufficient specialized knowledge, skills, and Japanese.
Moreover, for a foreign national to stay in Japan, obtaining a visa is required.

J states that in reality

it is difficult to change the field of expertise after entering university or getting a job, thereby resulting in
unsatisfactory employment.
F points out Japanese companies place too much emphasis on Japanese competence and may notcorrectly evaluate practical ability and qualities that are needed for business.

In fact, around F, there aresome examples of employment where specialized knowledge and skills were greatly valued (“10-2.
Causes of Companies’ Fear and Strategies to Remove it (p.140 )”). A also mentioned a similar case(“10-1. Opinions of Former Exchange Students on the Fear Companies Have (p. 130)”), and the opinion
that a high level of Japanese competence is not the only factor in gaining a satisfactory job in Japan isworthy of attention.

L as well speculates that the main cause of why Japanese companies do not hire aninternational staff is not due to their lack of Japanese skills, but the companies’ types of industry andthose of tasks.

However, in A’s example, “Her Japanese when I listen is not that good, just so-so,” andin F’s example, this person after becoming a part of the staff “…performed computer/IT-related tasks, andpassed level 1 in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test in one year.” As these cases show, their levelof Japanese competence is at a certain standard.

Moreover, as I statedin “10-1. Opinions of Former

Exchange Students on the Fear Companies Have (p.132 ),” it is true that even if one is highly skilled, if
his or her Japanese competence is inadequate, opportunities for promotion within the company will belimited. Thus, it is not that Japanese competence is not required, but when one has knowledge and skills
necessary to perform business tasks, a certain level of Japanese skills is needed additionally.

11. Summary
From the interviews with 13 former exchange students, some important factors in order for exchange
students to flourish in Japanese society and Japanese companies were revealed.
Exchange students first should correctly understand how the job-hunting process in Japan works andwhat it means. With that, they have to conduct sufficient company research and self analysis. The
company research and self analysis can be done before the third year, when students usually start their job
hunting.

Especially, it is important to clarify what one wants to do.

images differ before and after entering the company.

It is easy to imagine cases where

However, the process of company research andself analysis will serve as a standard to recognize one’s strengths and decide what role one would play inthe company as an organization, regardless of whether one is staying with the company or changing a job.
Even if one cannot decide types of industry or job, it is important to make efforts to maximize his or
her “English skills,” “computer skills,” “specialized skills needed for performing business,” and“Japanese skills” through the daily studies at the university.

It is difficult to gain “knowledge about

Japanese society and the culture of Japanese companies” and “communication skills” solely through thestudies at the university, but by actively participating in part-time jobs, club activities, social activities,
and by carefully observing and experiencing “Japan as an organization,” it is highly possible to gain theseskills.
In contrast, companies foremost should clarify the reason for employing an international staff.

If

the reason is shared at all levels of the company, it will be possible to solidify factors needed to realize theidea, and to plan and implement it.

If the reason remains ambiguous, both the new employee and thedepartment he or she is assigned to will both be just as confused, and it will be difficult to organicallyfulfill the original purpose.

If a company is clear with the reason for hiring exchange students, it can beconsidered to be capable of appropriately hiring and utilizing exchange students who recognize theirstrengths to meet the need for its development.
In addition, the Japanese government should clarify the meaning of having exchange students takenroot in Japanese society as a highly talented workforce.

Currently, the Japanese government has started

to recognize exchange students’ change in their field of study after entering university or seeking
employment in businesses whose fields differ from their majors with more flexibility.

However, at thesame time, it is important to create an environment where it is easy for exchange students to remain in
Japan even after they lose their exchange student status.

Not only the change in procedures to switchand renew visa status, but also the establishment of a system for institutional guarantee (upon signing anapartment lease) after employment would encourage movement with and stay in Japan.
Finally, the university staff should give opportunities for exchange students to know what job
hunting is.

With that, they need to provide information about job hunting and Japanese companies toexchange students at appropriate times, in appropriate forms.

Efforts are needed to make sure no

students are lacking awareness about job hunting or gaining insufficient company information as seenpresently.

Moreover, for exchange students to continue to work in Japanese companies, it is insufficientfor them to only have Japanese skills or professional competence.

Particularly, in graduate degrees inscience, it is considered that achievements in the specialized field are highly valued and for exchange
students, Japanese skills are not required.

However, both L and M, who finished doctorate degrees inscience (Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Biotechnology respectively) while having scientificpositions, still convey the importance of Japanese skills.

Universities, including exchange program

related personnel, should not only approach exchange students, companies and the government, but also
make efforts to publicize the fact that, in order to havemore capable individuals staying in Japan, bothhaving accomplishments, knowledge or skills in the specialized field and learning Japanese are equallyimportant.