TOKYO -- Most foreign students in Japan are eager to acquire high-level knowledge and skills, although some have been criticized for staying in Japan as little more than migrant workers. Many wish to find jobs in Japan after graduation, and for this country they should be considered valuable assets that can drive economic growth. With the job market for students graduating next spring a sellers' market, the likes of which Japan has never experienced before, how are those foreign students faring?
Li Chen, a 26-year-old Chinese graduate of the graduate school of Tokyo Keizai University said she still had not received a "naitei," an offer of employment commonly agreed in Japan between prospective graduates and companies with an option to cancel if, for example, the student fails to graduate as scheduled. If she cannot find one by November, she will have to leave Japan because her visa will expire.
