Japan marks lowest level of competition on record for civil service applicants
A total of 8,815 people passed the exam, up 1,258 from the previous year when one in 3.2 applicants passed.
An NPA official attributed the dip in competition to "the number of successful applicants rising in line with an increase in the number of planned hires by each ministry and agency."
The number of applicants who passed under a new entry track established in fiscal 2025 to examine judgment and thinking ability came to 1,763, making up around 20% of all successful applicants.
Women made up a record high of 47.1% of all successful applicants, up from 43.0% in the previous year.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
NHK
43 minutes ago
- NHK
South Korea's Lee to visit Japan on Aug. 23-24 for talks with Ishiba
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung will visit Japan on August 23 and 24 for talks with Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru. The summit was announced by both countries on Wednesday. Lee is scheduled to then travel to Washington for his first face-to-face talks with US President Donald Trump on August 25. Lee and Ishiba met for the first time in June on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit in Canada. They agreed to maintain close communication and organize visits to their respective countries. Ishiba also noted this year's significance for bilateral ties, as it marks the 60th anniversary of normalized diplomatic relations.
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Japan's Nikkei 225 breaches 43,000 for first time ever
Tokyo stocks rose to a record high for a second consecutive day as inflation figures released overnight suggested that interest rates could soon fall in the United States and on positive tariff-related news. After hitting 42,999.71 intraday on Tuesday , the Nikkei 225 stock index breached the 43,000 level for the first time ever on Wednesday and continued higher from the open with some conviction. The benchmark ended the day up 1.30%, at 43,274.67. "If the market continues in this fashion, it does appear that 45,000 is the next target that you're going to be facing,' said Takeo Kamai, head of execution services at CLSA Japan. Shares in Toyota Motor, Japan's largest company by market capitalization, rose 0.7% on Wednesday and is up about 6.4% over the past week. Sony Group shares rose 3.46% while Recruit Holdings gained 5.10%. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries shares were up 3.79% and are trading at all-time highs. Its share price has more than doubled over the past year and has risen 14-fold over the past five years. The yen was steady on Wednesday, strengthening slightly to about ¥147.8 to the dollar. Tuesday's strong performance in Tokyo — with the Nikkei 225 ending the day up 2.15%, at 42,718.17 — was in part triggered by a 90-day trade-war truce between the U.S. and China, Kamai said. On Monday in Washington and Tuesday morning in Beijing, the White House and China's Commerce Ministry issued a statement extending the suspension of higher-rate tariffs on each other for another 90 days to allow for further negotiations. 'I think that was enough to trigger the Nikkei to break new record highs,' Kamai said. 'And then once you break the new record highs, and you see short covering, you see retail buying leveraged ETFs, and then the momentum just builds up to the upside.' On Tuesday, the United States reported that inflation remained steady in July and below expectations, raising hope that tariffs will have a limited effect on prices and allow the U.S. Federal Reserve to start lowering interest rates. Inflation in the United States was 2.7% in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, lower than the 2.8% forecast by analysts and the same as the June figure. In overnight trading, the Nasdaq Composite index and the S&P 500 index both closed at record highs following the release of the inflation data. A trade deal reached between Japan and the United States on July 22, and subsequent clarifications of the terms of that deal, have also continued to support stocks, Kamai said. 'There's a little bit more, I guess, belief that the rally can continue,' he added. Risks still exist given that trade relations between Japan and the U.S. remain 'murky,' he noted, adding that the market tends to overlook underlying risks these days. The two countries remain at odds over the exact meaning of Japan's $550 billion investment pledge included in the trade agreement, while a drop in auto tariffs has been promised by the United States but not yet implemented. 'The headline risks are definitely out there, so any kind of negative headlines will probably see a quick turnaround in terms of profit taking,' Kamai said.
Japan Times
an hour ago
- Japan Times
Japan starts anti-dumping probe into Chinese and South Korean steel goods
Japan will begin an anti-dumping probe into some Chinese and South Korean steel goods, the latest effort by the nation to protect local producers against a wave of imports of the alloy. The investigation, which is expected to be complete within a year, will probe flows of hot-dipped galvanized coil, sheet and strip, the trade and finance ministries said in a statement on Wednesday. The decision follows an application in April by four firms, including Nippon Steel and Kobe Steel. Steel exports from China, the world's largest producer, have surged this year as a downturn in its property market hurt domestic demand. That's weighed on prices and put pressure on producers around the world, while tariffs imposed by the U.S. government have also complicated the business environment. The two ministries will provide opportunities for parties, including South Korean and Chinese suppliers, to present evidence before deciding on whether or not to impose a duty. Last month, Japan started an anti-dumping duty investigation into Chinese and Taiwanese nickel-added cold-rolled stainless-steel coil, sheet and strip.
