In Japan Helicopter Parents Co-Sign Employment Contracts with Their Children
Whose life is it anyway? The number of Japanese companies that confirm job offers and employment contracts for new graduates with their parents is increasing.
What’s new: The number of companies that confirm job offers and employment contracts with the parents of their new recruits is increasing. This phenomenon is called oyakaku (オヤカク) in Japanese. The term roughly translates as "parent confirmation.” The process includes cases where the company that has offered a job to the "child1" calls the parents to ask them verbally if they agree to the job offer, and cases where the parents are asked to sign a "job offer acceptance form" that has been sent to them. The acceptance form often contains language that requires the parents to make the same non-binding "pledge" as the child, such as "I will not refuse to join the company without a justifiable reason.”
Go deeper: For many Japanese employers, oyakaku extends far beyond the offer letter and the final employment contract. The Sapporo Group, brewer of Sapporo Beer (サッポロビール), is famous for inviting the parents of prospective employees to events such as dinner parties and social gatherings. The company also covers some travel expenses and arranges company tours and get-togethers at beer restaurants.
"In order to familiarize the closest family members with the Sapporo Group's products and services, we have revived the family participation entrance ceremony, which was held until 1985, and have been holding it since 2013." - Official website of the Sapporo Group
Last year, 89 new employees and 97 members of their immediate families attended.
Hiroshima City's Otafuku Sauce (お多福ソース) has been holding family-participation-type entrance ceremonies for over 30 years. This may be unique to the food and restaurant industry, which is close to consumers.
Other companies send brochures, recruitment information, and DVDs directly to parents. Some publish recruitment portals on their website that target parents of college students. Some companies send samples of their products to parents. Sometimes the president or hiring manager calls parents to say hello. In rare cases, a manager may even visit the parents at home.
Some companies invite the parents of new employees to the company initiation ceremony like the Sapporo Group. Haruyama Trading (はるやま商事), a men's clothing chain, began allowing parents to attend the ceremony last year after receiving inquiries about whether they could attend.
"I think employers want to make parents feel attached to the company's products and make them 'allies' so their son or daughter won't leave the company right away." - Eiichiro Shoji, a certified social security consultant
Mizu (ミズ), a pharmacy chain based in Saga Prefecture, has been holding its own company ceremony since 2012, with new employees sitting next to their parents. The goal is to reaffirm the importance of the parent-child relationship and to encourage employees to treat each other like family.
"I feel reassured about my child's workplace." - Comment from a parent who attended the Mizu Pharmacy initiation ceremony
Context: While the overall job market in Japan is becoming more fluid, allowing for more opportunities for mid-career job hoppers, the first job out of college is still considered very important. Japanese employers have traditionally hired for raw talent rather than focusing on recruiting candidates with specific skill sets. In Japanese society, a person's job often contributes to his or her social status and reputation to a large extent. A prestigious or well-known company can enhance one's standing in the community.
The practice of fathers (usually not mothers) arranging jobs for their children has a long tradition in Japan. This custom is deeply rooted in the country's Confucian values, which emphasize filial piety, respect for elders, and the importance of family and social networks.
During the feudal period (c. 710-1868), the social hierarchy was rigid, and most people's occupations were determined by their birth. A father's social status and connections often played a crucial role in securing suitable positions for his children within their social class. The Edo period (1603-1867) saw a significant growth in the merchant class. While social mobility was limited compared to modern times, fathers often used their business networks and connections to place their children in apprenticeships or other positions within their industries. After World War II, Japan underwent rapid industrialization, leading to a shift in the labor market. However, the tradition of fathers finding jobs for their children persisted, especially in rural areas and among families with strong social ties.
Why it matters: According to MyNavi's survey of students expected to graduate in 2024, the most common person students asked for advice and opinion when deciding on a job offer was their father or mother, at around 60%.
This is well ahead of “friends at school” (24.3%), “career counselors at school” (14.3%), and “friends outside school” (14.0%). For this reason, it is becoming increasingly common for companies to contact the parents of students who have received job offers, as they have a significant influence on their children's decisions.
Parents prefer well-known brands as a "safe" choice. In Japan, a "safe" choice usually means one of the country's largest employers.
"There are students who have not received a job offer until the fall of their senior year because their parents only allow them to apply to big companies." - A university lecturer in her 50s who has given career advice to students
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - especially those in rural areas, most foreign-owned companies, and start-ups often don't have a chance to attract talented young people.
In MyNavi's 2023 Survey of Parental Attitudes, the top choice of parents was not even a company. The number one choice of parents was for their children to become bureaucrats and work for the civil service. In second place was Toyota Motor Corporation (トヨタ自動車), followed by the trading company Itochu Corporation (伊藤忠商事), Sony (ソニー), and the telephone company NTT.
Meanwhile, in the "University Student Employment Company Popularity Ranking" for students expected to graduate in 2024, conducted jointly by MyNavi and Nikkei Inc, the top three companies for humanities students were Nitori (ニトリ), Japan's equivalent of Ikea, insurance company Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance (東京海上日動火災保険), and travel agency JTB Group (JTBグループ). Fast Retailing (ファーストリテイリング), the parent company of the Uniqlo brand, and Itochu Corporation ranked fourth and fifth. In the science and technology category, Sony Group ranked first, followed by food manufacturer Ajinomoto (味の素), Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (三菱重工業), IT leader Sky, and NTT Data.
Although there are some similarities between parents and children, there are also subtle differences between the generations, with companies that are not well known to the parents' generation, such as fast-growing manufacturing retailers Nitori and Fast Retailing, which ranked first and fifth in the humanities category, and software company Sky, which ranked fourth in the sciences category, also proving popular with students.
Incidentally, in the same survey of students expected to graduate in 2025, Nitori ranked first in the humanities and Sky fourth in the sciences.
Not surprisingly, the criteria for choosing a company differ between the parents' generation, for whom lifetime employment was the norm, and the younger generation, for whom it is natural to change jobs and advance their careers independently – or so they say.
By the numbers: The number of companies that are implementing oyakaku seems to be increasing.
Still hovering: In a survey conducted by Neocareer Co., Ltd., "the involvement of parents of new graduates is increasing" was the answer given by 58.3% of all companies. According to a survey of parents of students graduating in 2024, more than half of the parents said they had received a confirmation call from the company that offered their child a job. In addition, "there have been cases where the candidate has turned down an offer because of the parents' wishes," was the answer given by 47.9% of all companies.
Risk mitigation: One of the drivers of this trend is the high rate at which new hires turn down job offers (currently around 30%, but rising). Prospective employers see the act of codifying the employment agreement with the parents of new hires as a means of mitigating this risk.
Demographic change: The declining birth rate has created a seller's market, resulting in a severe shortage of young workers. It is now common for a single student or job seeker to receive multiple job offers, and the rejection rate (of the prospective employer by the job candidate) has inevitably risen as a result. In addition, with online job searches becoming the norm, it is now easy to apply to dozens or even hundreds of companies, which also contributes to the rise in the rate at which students and job seekers turn down job offers. As the number of families with only one child increases, parents are also becoming more serious about giving advice. In the past, when their children asked which company to join, many parents would simply say, "Do whatever you want," but now there are a growing number of parents who are carefully considering the companies that have offered their children jobs.
New hiring rules. Traditionally, Japanese employers would begin advertising to potential candidates in March, start the selection process in June, and make job offers by October for positions that would commence on April 1 of the following year, immediately after graduation in March. Much like the rules governing non-binding "early action" and "early decision" commitments made by high school students - especially student athletes - when applying to college in the United States, Japanese employers were not allowed to recruit year-round until 2022. That has changed. Students can now take entrance exams for large companies as many times as they like after receiving a job offer from a SME. Thus, SMEs now essentially play the role of a "safety school" in the recruiting process.
Size matters: 62.2% of parents are in favor of their children joining a "well-known large company," but this drops sharply to 15.1% for "unknown SMEs."
Never ending flight. Although several surveys confirm that the most common family member to oppose a mid-career change is the spouse (about 80%), in about 28% of cases it is one or both of the parents - even among people as old as 35. Therefore, for nearly one in three Japanese workers, their "helicopter parents" never seem to land and simply "hover" over them forever.
Commentary: Japan is not unique in that some parents are intensely involved in their children's lives, often to the point of hovering over them. This behavior can extend to their children's post-graduation job searches in other countries, as well. However, there is something inherently wrong with allowing companies to leverage a parent to extract a commitment from a student who may not be fully aware of the non-binding nature of such an agreement. It just seems like a step too far.
That said, parents around the world tend to be involved in helping their children secure a first job right out of college, although the degree of involvement varies widely. Some parents may actively network on their child's behalf, reaching out to contacts in their professional circles. Sometimes parents provide financial support for job search expenses, such as resume writing or interview coaching. They may provide direct guidance on everything from writing cover letters to negotiating salaries.
However, having a parent sign a new graduate's employment contract seems excessive.
It is bound to stifle independence. A little struggle to cultivate resilience and learning is essential to developing the problem-solving and self-reliance skills necessary for success in the workplace. The unrealistically high standards of some parents can also cause children to feel overwhelmed or underprepared. Overbearing parents can strain their children's relationships with potential employers.
The ideal balance is often to be supportive without being overly intrusive. Parents can offer guidance and encouragement while allowing their children to take charge of their own job search. By simply going along with their parents' decisions, a new employee may end up postponing the inevitable clash when the "fit" is not right.
"Even if I had been able to get a job at the company my parents wanted, I would have been worried about what would happen after that. If I had faced even a little bit of adversity, I think I would have quit right away and said, 'This isn't the job I wanted.’” - Recent college graduate
New hires also need to learn that rejection is an occasional part of life - especially early in their careers - when it is difficult to break into an industry. While it takes perseverance, such an experience can help young adults develop the confidence and skills they need to succeed in their careers.
While my advice is likely to fall on deaf ears, I sincerely hope that more Japanese students will resist their parents' attempts to overstep their boundaries by becoming overly involved in the hiring process. At this point in a college student's life, it is high time for the parents' "helicopter" to be grounded so that the young adult can take flight on their own. There may be some turbulence and a few bumps along the way as they leave their comfort zone, but this is the time for new graduates to take control of their own destiny and take responsibility for their commitment to a new employer.
What do you think? Are so-called "helicopter parents" doing their children a favor or a disservice by refusing to let go? While this practice may be okay in kindergarten, when should the "helicopters" be grounded? All responses are completely anonymous, even to the author.
Links to Japanese Sources: https://toyokeizai.net/articles/-/828348, https://ds-b.jp/dsmagazine/pages/498/, and https://asahi.gakujo.ne.jp/common_sense/morning_paper/detail/id=1231.
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In Japan, you officially become an adult at the age of 20.
I find this fascinating and horrifying in equal measure. I moved out of the house right after high school to attend university in another city. These days, it's now common for westerners to live with their parents untill well into their 20s.
I can't help but feel that Japan, which in many ways does more than other cultures to encourage children to be independent (little kids taking the train by themselves) and responsible (helping to tidy and clean their school) are really undoing most of that strong foundation in young adulthood, which is a shame.
Mark, thank you for writing on yet another aspect of Japanese culture about which I knew nothing.
There can be few things more sad than someone condemned to follow an occupation to please their parents when their heart is not in it. Joining and eventually taking over a father's business can strengthen families, communities and cultures when done with enthusiasm; but it can also lead to great personal unhappiness and business failure when done for reasons of filial piety or other perceived obligation, which is disastrous for those families and communities.
I would say it was an obligation on any loving parent to share the benefit of their knowledge and experience of the employment market with their children, but only if asked and for the purposes of support and guidance.
I think most young people know in their hearts by the time they graduate what they would like to do. They should be encouraged to follow their hearts. I think I was fortunate that, at the age of fourteen, my father did a deal with me that, provided I studied hard and went to university, I could choose any career I wanted. In the event, that is what happened and my parents played zero role in any of my career decisions. I had a fulfilling and successful career; but everyone is different and I am sure it must be tempting for many parents to think that they know best. As with all life's endeavours, some will benefit from good judgement, some will benefit from good luck, and some won't!