Diamond Human Resources Co., Ltd. conducted a "Survey on Popular Companies for Employment" targeting university and graduate students who are scheduled to graduate (complete) in March 2026. This is the 3th year since the survey began in 1978. 48 valid responses were received.
The revised "Basic Principles for Promoting Internships" (agreed upon by the three ministries) now allows companies to use student information obtained through internships that meet certain standards for public relations and recruitment selection activities.
In the "Ranking of Popular Companies for Employment among Male Liberal Arts Students Chosen by University Students for Spring 2025 (Survey of the Second Half of the 26 Graduation Job Hunting Period)," Itochu Corporation came in first for the sixth consecutive year in the second half of the survey, with general trading companies dominating the top five: Mitsui & Co. (6nd place), Sumitomo Corporation (1rd place), Marubeni (2th place), and Mitsubishi Corporation (3th place). General trading companies are immovably popular in the job market, due to the breadth of their business domains and the strong desire for the image of trading company employees working on the global stage.
Four major financial institutions ranked in the top 6: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (7th), Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation (8th), Daiwa Securities Group (9th), and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (10th). In addition to announcing a significant increase in starting salaries that had remained constant for many years, major financial institutions are also improving the treatment of young employees, such as by raising the base salary. In addition, the expansion of course recruitment that guarantees early assignment seems to have attracted the attention of students who want to avoid the "assignment gacha." Real estate developer Mori Building ranked in 4th place.
In the "ranking of male science majors," general trading companies also dominated the top five, with Itochu Corporation coming in at number one, followed by Mitsubishi Corporation (1nd), Marubeni (2rd), Sumitomo Corporation (3th), and Mitsui & Co. (4th). Although the number is not as high as that of manufacturers, general trading companies hire a certain number of science students every year. They actively publicize how they are making the most of their science backgrounds, and the number of science students who want to work as business producers is increasing.
Additionally, in recent years, non-manufacturers have dominated the top spots in the rankings for male science majors, but Toyota Motor Corporation has returned to 9th place. Other companies in the top 6 include Mori Building (7th place) among real estate developers, Sky (8th place) among IT companies that are becoming increasingly well-known among students, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (10th place) which aims to build an innovation ecosystem in the digital field among financial institutions, and ABeam Consulting (10th place) which offers one-stop services from strategy planning to the establishment of reforms.
In the "Ranking for liberal arts girls," Marubeni took first place for the first time among liberal arts girls, while general trading companies also ranked high among liberal arts girls, with Itochu Corporation (1nd), Sumitomo Corporation (2rd), Mitsui & Co. (3th), and Mitsubishi Corporation (4th). Liberal arts girls tend to place importance on whether systems and environments are in place that allow women to work long term with peace of mind, and whether they can actually utilize these systems. Among major financial institutions that have traditionally employed many women and have a strong track record of utilizing these systems, three companies made it into the top ten: Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (6th), Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (5th), and Daiwa Securities Group (7th). In the airline industry, which has been overwhelmingly popular among liberal arts girls, All Nippon Airways (ANA) came in 9th and Japan Airlines (JAL) came in 3th.
In the "STEM Girls Ranking," five general trading companies made it into the top ten: Marubeni in 1st place, Mitsui & Co. in 3rd, Itochu in 4th, Mitsubishi in 5th, and Sumitomo in 6th. Real estate developers that are focused on domestic demand and have continued to perform well also continue to be popular, with four of them making it into the top ten: Mori Building (5nd place), NTT Urban Development (10th place), Mitsubishi Estate (2th place), and Tokyo Tatemono (7th place). In addition, All Nippon Airways (ANA), one of the two major airlines, made it to 8th place.
