ABSTRACT
In Japan, getting a job did not mean getting hired to perform a specific service. It meant, rather, being hired by a company as a lifetime employee. Though students were thought to have potential, they were not perceived to have strong job skills. For this reason, training the new employees was believed necessary. Normal practice was for the Company Entrance Ceremony to be held on April I, during which the company president would instruct new employees on internal and extern al financial conditions, the state of affairs of the industry, and the mental attitude they would need as new members ofthe company. Newspapers ran articles (complete with photographs) on the admonitory address given by presidents of the most prestigious companies.
