On February 19th and February 21st, the FOB invited Senior Lecturer Minoru Tamura from Tokushima Bunri University in Japan to give two exciting lectures to IBC year 1 students. The lecture's topic was " Japan's Employment System - Characteristics of Membership-based Employment."

Senior Lecturer Tamura started with a brief self-introduction and introduced the characteristics of his hometown. He mentioned the two employment systems in Japan: one is the job-based employment system (global standard), and the other is the unique membership-based employment system in Japan. The lecturer explained the characteristics of the membership-based employment system to the students, which mainly include not specifying the specific job or workplace for employees during recruitment. Companies decide the job content based on the employees' abilities and preferences, while the workplaces are spread all over Japan.

As the students gained a certain understanding of this system, Mr. Tamura further compared the advantages and disadvantages of the two employment systems and shared the challenges that the membership-based system faces in Japan. The main challenge is the lack of sufficient specialization among employees and the lack of investment in employee education and training by companies. These factors result in unclear salaries for Japanese employees, which can only be determined based on age and years of service, leading to situations of unequal pay for equal work. However, the characteristics of the membership-based system also include stable unemployment rates and the ability to respond through job rotation. Therefore, during economic downturns, the unemployment rate is unlikely to rise significantly.

The students actively raised questions and the atmosphere in the classroom was lively. In the end, Mr. Tamura concluded the class by providing the students with a comprehensive opportunity to understand the employment system in Japan.

This lecture not only enriched students' knowledge of Japan's employment system but also promoted international exchange and cross-cultural understanding. The FOB will continue to organize such activities to provide students with more valuable learning opportunities and a platform for communication with international experts.