News On Japan

Sony raises rookie pay up to 20% to lure tech talent

Jun 03 (Nikkei) - Sony will increase salaries by up to 20% for new recruits with high-tech skills in fields such as artificial intelligence, moving away from the traditional Japanese emphasis on seniority to better compete in a battle for talent that crosses industries and international borders.

Traditionally, new graduates hired by Sony all receive the same entry-level salary, then are assigned a pay grade after more than a year based on their role. Starting this year, grades can be set for standout hires in as little as three months, resulting in annual salaries as much as 20% higher than colleagues.

Japanese companies have a deep-rooted tendency to pay new employees equally regardless of individual qualifications. But global competition for top talent -- particularly in the tech industry, where big American players like Google and Apple dominate -- has made it increasingly important to offer new graduates compensation in line with their abilities from the time they enter the company.

Sony's system represents a step in this direction. The baseline annual salary this fiscal year for an incoming employee fresh out of graduate school is about 6 million yen ($55,000), while an average second-year employee who has received a pay grade will earn around 6.3 million yen. Strong performers under the new system can rise as high as a rank above this in their first year, earning 7.3 million yen.

Sony expects to apply this to about 5% of its roughly 400 spring 2019 hires. The company will consider assigning pay grades in new employees' first month as early as 2020, using such means as internships to examine their skills in advance.

Employees will have their pay grades reassessed periodically and be promoted or demoted accordingly, to keep motivation high.

News On Japan
POPULAR NEWS

Japan’s H3 Rocket No. 7, carrying a newly developed unmanned cargo spacecraft, successfully launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture at 9 a.m. on October 26th, marking another milestone for the nation’s space program.

A Tokyo District Court has ruled that addressing a colleague using the 'chan' suffix constitutes sexual harassment, ordering a male employee to pay 220,000 yen in damages.

Fonts are an invisible part of daily life, yet they profoundly shape how we perceive information and emotion. From the elegant Mincho to the bold Gothic, these designs are chosen according to purpose—whether to convey clarity, trust, or impact—and their influence extends beyond readability into branding and communication.

The Emperor, Empress, and their daughter Princess Aiko visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Sumida Ward on Thursday afternoon, marking their first visit to the site as Japan observes the 80th year since the end of World War II. They were greeted upon arrival by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and other officials.

The Kofu Local Meteorological Observatory announced on October 23rd that the season’s first snow had been observed on Mount Fuji, which stands 3,776 meters tall. Around 6 a.m., an official visually confirmed that snow had clearly accumulated near the summit.

MEDIA CHANNELS
         

MORE Society NEWS

A 38-year-old man was arrested near the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo’s Minato Ward on October 24th after attacking a riot police officer with a knife, injuring the officer’s right leg.

A group in Sapporo achieved a Guinness World Record on October 25th for creating the world’s largest sentence made entirely from plastic bottle caps. The artwork, composed of around 80,000 caps, was officially recognized under the category “Largest Sentence Made from Bottle Caps.”

A 47-year-old man accused of possessing cannabis in Nagoya has been acquitted after the Nagoya High Court ruled that the procedures used to seize the evidence were illegal. The decision, handed down on October 9th, became final after prosecutors decided not to appeal.

A 38-year-old man was killed on October 24th in the village of Higashinaruse, Akita Prefecture, after attempting to rescue a couple in their seventies who were being attacked by a bear.

A memorial service marking 80 years since the end of World War II was held in Shari, a town in Hokkaido’s Shiretoko region, on October 22nd to honor those who perished in the Northern Territories and other areas.

Police in Osaka arrested a 48-year-old man on October 22nd after a tense 14-hour standoff in which he allegedly held a woman at knifepoint inside an apartment. A special tactical unit forced entry into the residence late at night, ending the standoff without injuries.

The Emperor, Empress, and their daughter Princess Aiko visited the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall in Sumida Ward on Thursday afternoon, marking their first visit to the site as Japan observes the 80th year since the end of World War II. They were greeted upon arrival by Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike and other officials.

The Metropolitan Police Department has arrested Naoki Satake, an unemployed suspect, on suspicion of robbery resulting in injury after he allegedly sprayed tear gas on a man and tried to steal 53 million yen in Tokyo’s Edogawa Ward in September.