Aeon Mall x Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management Team Up for Student Part-time Hiring, Launching "Project to Create Shopping Centers Where Students Want to Work" Demonstration Experiment
Aeon Mall Co., Ltd. and Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management Co., Ltd. have partnered to launch a demonstration experiment called the "Project to Create Shopping Centers Where Students Want to Work." This initiative aims to address the challenges of student part-time recruitment and retention in the SC industry by offering attractive benefits, a secure working environment, and opportunities for student community building. The project seeks to reposition shopping centers as valuable places for students to gain work experience, enrich their student life, and consider as future career options.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 9, 2026 at 21:00
- 🔍 Collected: April 9, 2026 at 12:30
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 18, 2026 at 10:36 (214h 5m after Collected)
Aeon Mall Co., Ltd. and Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management Co., Ltd. will start a demonstration experiment of their joint project "Project to Create Shopping Centers Where Students Want to Work" at two SCs in the West Tokyo area starting from April 2026.
This project is an industry-wide initiative by both companies operating shopping centers (hereafter, SC) with the aim of supporting the recruitment and retention of student part-timers in the SC industry, and creating and appealing "new value in working at an SC" to younger generations.
Through this initiative, SCs will create value as a "safe and growth-oriented environment for students taking their first step into society," and will also promote their appeal as one of the career options after graduation, aiming for the sustainable development of the industry.
■ "Project to Create Shopping Centers Where Students Want to Work" Implementation Overview
Demonstration Experiment Period: April 2026 - September 2026
Target Facilities:
AEON MALL Tamadaira no Mori (Hino City, Tokyo)
Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport Tachikawa Tachihi (Tachikawa City, Tokyo)
Target: Approximately 360 specialty stores operating in the above facilities
Special Website:
https://mitsui-shopping-park.com/lalaport/special/sc-student-support/
＜Detailed Initiative Content＞
1. Holding "University On-site" Joint Part-time Job Briefings
Approaching students directly by visiting university campuses, which are their living areas. In collaboration with universities located in the vicinity of both SCs (Tachikawa City, Hino City, Hachioji City), a joint part-time job briefing will be held in conjunction with the new semester, in cooperation with Gakusei Joho Center Co., Ltd., which operates the school-approved part-time job referral system "Baito Net."
In addition to setting up booths for participating companies, explanations will be provided on the "safe and secure working environment" at SCs, extensive welfare benefits, know-how for balancing work and studies, and skills that can be acquired.
＜Implementation Dates: Participating Universities＞
① April 9, 2026 (Thursday): Jissen Women's University Hino Campus
② April 21, 2026 (Tuesday): Meisei University
2. Student Community Building Measures
As a place for students working at SCs to connect with each other, "exchange events exclusively for student staff" will be held, transcending the boundaries of facilities and stores.
By fostering a sense of solidarity among colleagues working at SCs, we will support the formation of a community where they can share their concerns and experiences. By creating an environment where students can enjoy friendly competition, we aim to maintain students' motivation to work and improve retention rates.
3. Student Life Support Measure "Thank You Tickets from the Facilities"
During the period, student part-timers working at both SCs will receive coupon tickets with benefits that support student life, including movie tickets and other benefits in collaboration with tenants at both facilities, on a first-come, first-served basis.
Implementation Period: June - August 2026 (planned)
Number of Recipients: Approximately 300 per facility (approximately 600 in total) on a first-come, first-served basis
Coupon Examples:
① TOHO Cinemas free movie ticket
② Product exchange ticket usable at both facilities
- "Popular Menu + Drink Set" choice of food (pasta / rice bowl / sandwich, etc.) + 1 soft drink
- "Cafe Free Ticket" 1 free L-size drink of your choice at any cafe + 1 side menu item
- "Beauty Care Set" assortment of recommended beauty care sets
- "Amusement Experience" 5 free plays of a crane game
*The content of the product exchange tickets is an image. The content may change in the future.
Background and Outlook of Project Launch
~From "securing human resources" to providing a place for "attractions and benefits that enrich student life"~
While the need for "recruitment support" for tenants is increasing, the proportion of student part-timers in the SC industry is low, and the acquisition of younger generations has been slow. Furthermore, a challenge has been the inability to sufficiently appeal the inherent charm of SCs, such as "extensive welfare benefits" and "good working environment," which students value.
Therefore, this project aims to reconstruct SCs as a "place where students can work with peace of mind and enrich their student life," and to create new value that makes SCs chosen by students throughout the industry.
Through this project, by analyzing actual student voices and behavior, and aligning "the employment value students truly seek" with "the value SCs can provide," we aim for expansion into other areas, other measures, and consideration of introducing new platforms.
＜Comments from Each Representative Director and President＞
Keiji Ohno, Representative Director and President, AEON MALL Co., Ltd.
Towards 2030, our company has set the vision of "AEON MALL: Towards Co-creation with Local Communities," and aims to solve local issues by cooperating with a wide range of local partners. This time, in response to the challenge of "difficulty in recruiting part-timers for our tenants," we have launched this project with Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management Co., Ltd., which faces the same challenge. We want SCs to continue to be companies that contribute to our tenants and their staff who work there daily.
We ask for everyone's support and cooperation.
Osamu Obayashi, Representative Director and President, Mitsui Fudosan Retail Management Co., Ltd.
In response to the challenge of securing human resources that the shopping center industry faces, we have launched this project with AEON MALL Co., Ltd., which shares the same awareness of the common issue of "difficulty in recruiting part-timers for our tenants." We believe that SCs have value as an environment where students can work with peace of mind and grow. We believe that seriously addressing student support will ultimately lead to an improvement in the human resource challenges of the entire industry.