87.5% of Participating International Students Express Desire to Work in Japan for Over Five Years: Job Fair Connecting Highly Skilled Foreign Talent with Companies Held

PERSOL TempStaff Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kazunari Kimura; hereinafter 'PERSOL TempStaff'), a company under the PERSOL Group that handles staffing and outsourcing services, held a job fair on Tuesday, August 4, 2026, targeting international students and companies. On the day, 63 international students from major domestic universities participated, and a survey revealed that 87.5% of them expressed a desire to work in Japan for more than five years.

The company will continue to host similar job fairs regularly to support corporate hiring and long-term retention of foreign talent.

Background of the Job Fair

Currently, structural labor shortages in Japan have heightened expectations for 'foreign employment' and 'hiring foreign talent.' In particular, recruiting highly skilled foreign professionals with specialized knowledge has become a critical issue for corporate innovation and global expansion. However, many companies remain hesitant to initiate concrete recruitment activities due to concerns about post-hiring mismatches and lack of support for long-term integration.

To address these challenges, the job fair was organized to provide a platform where students and companies can interact directly and deepen mutual understanding.

Diverse International Students with Varied Expertise Participated

The job fair welcomed 63 international students from diverse regions, primarily Asia, as well as North America, the Middle East, and Africa. Most were students from leading Japanese universities such as Kyoto University, Ritsumeikan University, and Shibaura Institute of Technology, with 32 in science and engineering fields and 31 in humanities.

Their academic disciplines spanned engineering fields such as mechanical, information, chemical, and civil engineering, life sciences including biotechnology, agriculture, and pharmaceuticals, and humanities fields such as business, economics, international relations, law, and education. A notable feature was the high proportion of master's and doctoral students engaged in research and specialized fields.

Many students demonstrated strong Japanese language proficiency, such as JLPT N1 or N2 levels, indicating serious consideration of employment at Japanese companies.

87.5% Express Long-Term Employment Intentions in Japan

Survey results from participants showed that 70.8% expressed a desire to settle permanently in Japan, rising to 87.5% when including those wishing to stay for 5 to 10 years (see Figure 1). This indicates that many international students view working in Japan not as a short-term experience, but as a platform for mid- to long-term career development.

When asked why they want to work in Japan, the top reason was 'a comfortable living environment' (70.8%), followed by 'career advancement' (41.7%) and 'acquiring cutting-edge technology and specialized knowledge' (33.3%). These responses reflect a strong desire to enhance their expertise and experience through employment at Japanese companies.

When choosing companies, students prioritized 'doing work they are passionate about' (75.0%) and 'work-life balance' (66.7%), suggesting a trend toward selecting employers with long-term career goals in mind.

For students, factors such as 'what kind of work they will do,' 'what kind of environment they will work in,' and 'what kind of career path they can build in the future' are critical decision-making criteria.

Therefore, during company presentations and recruitment outreach, it is effective to go beyond basic company overviews and job descriptions, and instead provide concrete information about actual job content, career paths of junior employees, success stories of foreign employees, training and development programs, and future career progression.

Comment from Representative of Participating Company, Murata Machinery, Ltd.

Although it was our first time participating, we had meaningful conversations with many international students, making it a highly valuable experience.

Many students actively asked questions in Japanese, and their enthusiasm and ambition left a strong impression.

Our company operates globally with extensive international connections, and we value opportunities to meet talent with a global perspective.

Future Outlook

This job fair successfully created opportunities for highly motivated international students seeking long-term careers in Japan to connect with companies. We plan to continue hosting such job fairs regularly. Going beyond mere employment support, we aim to deepen understanding of both students' employment aspirations and companies' readiness to accept foreign talent, thereby supporting foreign professionals from 'hiring' to 'retention and success.'

About PERSOL TempStaff Co., Ltd.

PERSOL TempStaff Co., Ltd. provides human resources services including staffing, dispatch-to-hire, and outsourcing. In July 2017, the company changed its name from TempStaff Co., Ltd. to PERSOL TempStaff Co., Ltd. The PERSOL Group, guided by its vision 'Let’s work and smile,' leverages the full strength of the group to solve labor and employment challenges and contribute to building a sustainable society.