Heading en masse to new positions in Japan's major corporations, fresh university graduates in black suits have become as common a sight in Tokyo as April's cherry blossoms. But this year, things are different.

According to a closely watched annual survey, the companies that were once synonymous with Japan Inc. - Toyota, Sony, Sharp and Canon - have lost their luster¹ as potential employers. For those seeking secure jobs-for-life, students are instead looking to relatively² low-risk industries such as railroads and public utilities.

The survey, a poll of nearly 6,000 university seniors is conducted by Recruit Co., a Tokyo-based research and human resources company. Toyota's ranking as a preferred employer plummeted³ from 6th place last year to 96th place this year. Sony fell from 8th to 29th place; Sharp from 14th to 55th place; Canon from 20th to 77th place.

And which companies are the top five dream employers? Central Japan Railway and East Japan Railway Co. rose to first and second place (up from 4th and 9th place last year). Japan Post - formerly⁴ the public office that the government began to privatize in 2007 - jumped 357 spots to rank 30th. Chubu Electric Power and Kansai Electric Power both gained more than 50 places each to rank in the top 50.

Recruit collected the data between Jan. 30 and Feb. 16, as a series of dire⁵ economic indicators⁶ painted a dismal⁷ economic outlook for Japan and major companies were laying off workers in waves. "News reports about worsened business and manpower conditions came out one after another," says Recruit spokeswoman Yuri Ito.

"This survey is done around the time companies announce their recruitment plan for the following year. So some students might vote for those that plan to hire aggressively. Students consider companies in industries like infrastructure⁸ and food, which are robust⁹ in a recession... companies that are stable and don't go away," says Ito. "Their parents think the same."

Grad students in engineering fields, of whom 1,860 were polled, still chose Panasonic as their ideal employer (followed by Sony), but automotive-related companies dropped in rank, and household products (including cosmetics¹⁰) and pharmaceutical¹¹ companies grew in popularity. The largest gains were seen by cosmetics companies Kao and Kose, food company Meiji, and three pharmaceutical companies: Shionogi & Co., Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., and Astellas.

Kevin Gibson, managing director of headhunting firm Robert Walters Japan, says he, too, is witnessing a flight to risk-free industries. "We see a gravitation away from banking¹² and, oddly enough, manufacturing is perceived as insecure now," Gibson says.

But Gibson says the brain drain from old-guard companies may not last. "Media spent so much time beating up on these companies," he says. "They will bounce back."

日本大公司一有招聘，身穿黑色礼服的大学毕业生就蜂拥而上，他们已经成为东京街头和四月绽放的樱花一样常见的风景。但今年却大不相同。

根据一项备受瞩目的年度调查，曾为日本企业象征的丰田、索尼、夏普、佳能等公司已经尽失潜在雇主的魅力。寻求可靠的终身职业的学生转而把目光投向风险相对较低的行业，例如铁路和公共事业。

东京的市场调查和人力资源公司Recruit对近六千名大学高年级学生进行了调查。在最佳雇主排行榜上，丰田公司从去年的第6位跌至今年的第96位。索尼公司从第8位跌至第29位，夏普公司从第14位跌至第55位，而佳能公司则从第20位跌至第77位。

哪五家公司被评为最理想雇主呢？中央日本铁路公司和东日本铁路公司分别从去年的第4位和第9位升至今年的前两位。原为国有机构的日本邮政公社升至第30位，上升了357名，2007年日本政府开始对其实施私有化。日本中部电力公司和日本关西电力公司均跻身前50强，也都上升了50多位。

Recruit公司于今年1月30日至2月16日之间开展了此项调查，这期间一连串糟糕的经济数据描绘出日本灰暗的经济前景，大公司纷纷裁员。Recruit公司女发言人Yuri Ito说：“当时，有关恶化的经济和就业状况的新闻报道接连不断。”

Ito说：“这项调查大约是在各公司宣布下一年度招聘计划时进行的，因此一些学生可能会选择那些计划逆市扩招的公司。学生会考虑基础设施建设、食品业等在危机中发展势头强劲的公司，这些公司比较稳定，而且不会突然倒闭。学生的父母也这样想。”

共有1860名工科毕业生参与了调查，他们心目中的理想雇主仍然是松下公司，索尼公司位居其次，但汽车公司排名暴跌。日用品公司（包括化妆品）以及制药公司大受欢迎。最大的赢家包括花王和高丝化妆品公司、明治食品公司、以及盐野义制药株式会社、中外制药株式会社和安斯泰来制药厂三家制药公司。

日本Robert Walters猎头公司常务董事凯文•吉布森称，他也目睹着人们转而涌入无风险行业的场面。吉布森说：“我们发觉银行业吸引力减退，说来也奇怪，人们现在觉得制造业也不可靠。”

但吉布森称老牌公司的人才流失不会持续很久。他说：“媒体花了这么多时间给这些公司打气，它们会复苏的。”

Vocabulary:

en masse：in a mass; all together; as a group（全体地，一同地）

plummet：to decline suddenly and steeply（下降，跌落）

brain drain：a loss of trained professional personnel to another company, nation, etc., that offers greater opportunity.（人才流失）

old-guard：资深的，保守的