Q Why does academic background count in employment and in promotions?

A Industry has become highly technical with the advancement of scientific technology, and jobs requiring specialization have sprung up one after another. Japan is not the only country that finds a high educational level, or in other words, an advanced educational background necessary to train a work force able to tackle these highly specialized jobs.

Most students in Japan go on to high school after finishing compulsory education in the elementary and junior high school levels. Many have a desire to continue on to university level, but those able to make it into universities in 1994 made up 43 .3% or Jess than half of all high school graduates.

Many of those not making it into universities have another try at the entrance examination or join the work force. Getting admitted to a well-known university lies behind this stiff entrance examination competition. Admittance to a good university where a high percentage of its graduates enter large, well-known corporations requires
intense studying from the elementary school level on.

The company trains the new employees to become valuable assets to the company and hence the prevailing reasoning that qualified workers can be had from good universities and the importance placed on academic background in hiring.

Graduates from well-known universities are conspicuous in other companies and in the government. Many businesses eye to make use of graduates from well-known universities because of the financial and political links that they share.