business

Aeon to post 1,000 new graduates to stores in China, Southeast Asia

5 Comments

Retailer Aeon plans to post 1,000 newly hired graduates to stores in China and Southeast Asia as part of its expansion into those markets.

Aeon executives told a news conference in Tokyo this week that the company plans to hire 3,000 staff in Japan and abroad for fiscal 2012.

Aeon already has more than 100 supermarkets in China, Malaysia and Thailand, while Ministop Co, the company's convenience store chain, operates in South Korea. Aeon said it plans to open stores in Cambodia, Laos and Indonesia.

The retailer said that it wants to give its young Japanese employees the experience of working overseas at the start of their careers.

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5 Comments
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Excellent and promising, good luck to those that get hired. This is what Japan needs to thrive and survive.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Lots of companies doing this now - poor Japanese graduates will have to actually do some work rather than sitting around 'training' for their first 3 years.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Three cheers. Maybe there is some hope for Japan recognizing the problems with being so inward-focused. I just hope when they come back that they are not shunned by the Japanese employees who did not go overseas. That happens all too often.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

This all looks good on paper. I only hope that AEON is also preparing to support these employees and help them cope with all of the stress they'll feel from living overseas. They will not just be seen by the locals as representatives of their company; they will also be seen as representatives of their country.

This may be the first time opportunity for many of these young people to actually "live" in a foreign country. Visiting as a tourist on vacation is one thing, but living and working there for an extended period of time is totally different. For the first time in many of their lives , they will be the gaijin. For the first time in many of their lives, they will be exposed to overt anti-Japanese sentiment and/or nationalistic politics. These people will need to be properly prepared so that they have at least a fairly good idea as to what is in store for them and how to cope.

So while it is true that this kind of thing can indeed turn out to be a rewarding experience, it can, however, also turn out to be a pretty negative one. Hopefully, AEON will be taking steps to provide the support that these people need so their experience turns out to be a truly rewarding one. It certainly won't help either the company or the country if these people end up coming back home with a bitter taste in their mouths and/or leaving the locals with a bad taste in theirs.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Good points all! Especially like the point that they will be gaijin. Hello!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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