Now, everyone, I would like you to remember that in October 2018, the Japan Business Federation announced a review of the uniform mass hiring of new graduates, "Abolishing the rules on job hunting and recruitment activities after April 2021." I believe that this is largely related to the fact that it has become difficult to maintain the lifetime employment system (which I believe was a good form of employment in Japan), and in the face of the rapid changes of globalization, companies are moving away from relying solely on mass hiring of new graduates and instead are looking to hire mid-career graduates (including foreigners) whenever they find good talent.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has set out the rules for job hunting and recruitment activities, stating that "Recruitment public relations begins on March 1st, and recruitment selection begins on June 1st," but in reality this rule has become a mere formality, and many companies are now hiring students all year round, regardless of the time of year. New recruitment channels are becoming more diverse and specialized, such as referral hiring (a method of using the personal networks of current employees to connect with recruitment) and offer-type hiring (students promote themselves via the Internet or at reverse recruitment events, and wait for companies to contact them).

The impact of COVID-19 has also brought about various changes in student behavior. Until now, students have been able to overcome the tough job hunting process by encouraging each other through natural conversations on campus and unconsciously giving and receiving insights together. Even slow-start students, such as turtle-type students, were able to grasp and judge their own position from the visible surroundings, such as casual conversations with friends in the cafeteria, or the sight of friends on campus dyeing their hair black and walking around in recruitment suits, and connect that to action. However, the impact of COVID-19 has reduced face-to-face communication, and students who used to receive information "somehow" as a matter of course can no longer see the situation they are in, and we are now in an era where they cannot get any information unless they consciously go out and get it themselves. With COVID-19, students today are required to be more self-aware and take proactive action than ever before.

These days can be said to be turbulent times, but there is one idea that our university has long placed importance on in its career and employment support: that the goal for students is not to receive a job offer, but rather, that "how they live after graduation is what is important," including how they work after joining the company.

Our school has an educational philosophy based on Christian faith, and our motto is "Salt of the Earth, Light of the World," and our educational policy is to nurture "people who willingly fulfill their responsibilities to all people and society." During college, students are expected to focus on their studies and extracurricular activities, which are their primary duties, and this will strengthen their legs and back as human beings. Just as we wait for persimmons to ripen and change color naturally, we want to nurture the humanity of each student according to their own pace of growth.

Based on this "Kaki no Mi Theory," our school offers various career and employment support. For example, we do not directly conduct industry research or introduce companies to first and second year students, but encourage them to think for themselves about the intersection of society and work from various angles, such as hospitality, SDGs, financial literacy, and other social issues and themes that are familiar to students.

It seems that many guarantors are worried about their children's job hunting due to the impact of COVID-19. However, the overall job offer ratio is still more lenient than it was during the collapse of the bubble economy and the Lehman Shock, and there are many industries and companies that are actually increasing the number of hires. There is no need to be overly pessimistic.

We ask all guarantors to believe in the ability of their children to face the tough job hunting process. The current job hunting process (especially since COVID-19) is changing every moment in sync with the rapidly changing social situation, and the job hunting experience of the guarantor generation is not necessarily applicable.

With COVID-19, we would like you to respect your child's own will as they face the tough challenge of job hunting. On top of that, the basis of job hunting is basic manners and social skills, such as greeting people properly and keeping appointments. Valuing family ties leads to warm support for your child's job hunting.

Finally, there is an astonishing increase in private job-hunting schools and little-known job-hunting websites, and they are of various levels, but ultimately lead to business. There is no guarantee that your beloved child will not get caught up in trouble such as job-hunting harassment. Please make active use of our university's Career and Employment Center (Aoyama Campus) and Career and Employment Department (Sagamihara Campus) to ensure a safe and secure job-hunting experience.

The Career and Employment Center is not just a department that supports finding employment. Only a healthy student life, as is characteristic of Aogaku, can lead to employment at the end of the year. In addition to providing support to third and fourth year students, we also aim to create a system that makes it easy for first and second year students to visit the center when considering their future career paths.