Stumbling upon 'Tankan' results worst on record by Takahiro Fukuda (Japan Times/ April 2, 2009), its illustration (a photo by Satoko Kawsaki, reproduced below) of new hires shining senior workers shoes at a Tokyo-based shoe products maker (Columbus) left me puzzled.
Since the shoe shining took place on April 1st, I was left wondering if it was a joke or part of tradition.
The byline of the picture notes that in Japan "every April 1, hundreds of thousands of young recruits start their careers nationwide"…
Enlighten me if you can!
Culture Clash on display for Tokyo Thursdays # 82
Last week on Tokyo Thursdays: Expats in Japan from Bespoke Tokyo to Shizuoka Gourmet