[2027 Graduates from Former Imperial Universities, Waseda, Keio Latest Ranking] "Trading Company Unchallenged Dominance" Strengthens Further with Top 5 Domination. Decline in IT/Consulting Popularity? Latest Job Search Survey Reveals Students' Strict Company Selection

Leadingmark Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Yuji Iida), which provides HR services "Mikiwame AI" through new graduate recruitment support and Personality Tech, has planned and edited the "2027 Graduate Spring Integrated/Popular Company Ranking" targeting students from former imperial universities, Waseda, and Keio (※1) who are job hunting from January to March 2026, and announced the top 100 popular companies.

※For inquiries regarding this release, please contact: https://www.recme.jp/for-company/

＜Highlights of this Release＞

・ General trading companies completely dominate the top 5: Mitsubishi Corporation maintains its top position from last year. The trend of "trading companies' unchallenged dominance" with concentrated popularity among top-tier companies is becoming even clearer.

・ Clear decline in popularity of IT and consulting: The IT and consulting industries, which have previously driven the job hunting market, both saw a decline. Instead, high-income general trading companies and the transportation industry expanded their share.

・ Strict company selection in an era of inflation: The average expected annual income at age 30 rose to "9.3 million yen." Students are strictly seeking "practical benefits" (high income) while also shifting towards desiring an "environment where they can challenge themselves with peace of mind," avoiding excessive competition.

In this term's ranking, general trading companies completely dominated the top 5. While the lineup remains unchanged from the same period last year, it is noteworthy that the vote share for each company in the top tier has generally increased, revealing a situation where the "trading company unchallenged dominance" is further accelerating and concentrating among students from former imperial universities, Waseda, and Keio. On the other hand, the IT and consulting industries, which had previously garnered popularity, have seen their rankings decline.

Furthermore, a survey of students' values in company selection revealed that the average expected annual income at age 30 reached "9.3 million yen," an increase of 250,000 yen from the previous year. Additionally, "friendly workplace environment" rapidly rose to the top 3 as a factor for company attractiveness. This highlights a trend where students are strictly seeking economic "practical benefits" (high income) while also desiring a secure "environment where they can challenge themselves with peace of mind," avoiding excessive competition.

This report will convey the actual job hunting situation for students from former imperial universities, Waseda, and Keio.

The "Trading Company Unchallenged Dominance" further strengthens, with general trading companies completely dominating the top 5

＜2027 Graduate Spring Popular Company Ranking (Excerpt of 1st to 100th place)＞

※Comparison with 2026 Graduate Spring Survey (↑↓ indicates rank change)

[Image: 2027 Graduate Spring Popular Company Ranking]

In the overall ranking for the 2027 Graduate Spring, the top 5 companies were completely dominated by general trading companies: 1st Mitsubishi Corporation (1st→1st / 23.26%→23.73%), 2nd Itochu Corporation (2nd→2nd / 20.33%→22.78%), 3rd Mitsui & Co. (3rd→3rd / 18.14%→21.98%), 4th Marubeni Corporation (4th→4th / 15.46%→16.18%), and 5th Sumitomo Corporation (5th→5th / 15.07%→15.23%).

While the lineup and ranks of these top 5 companies remain unchanged from last year (2026 Graduate Spring), what is particularly noteworthy is the "extreme concentration" on the top tier. Many of the top companies have increased their vote share from the previous year, indicating the intensifying popularity of trading companies among students from former imperial universities, Waseda, and Keio.

Clear decline in popularity of IT and consulting. The transportation industry makes great strides, while industries that previously led popularity show signs of decline.

＜Desired Industries＞

[Image: Desired Industries]

The top "General Trading Companies" further expanded their share from 36.3% last year to 39.3%, and "Transportation" made great strides from 10.5% to 14.1%. Among individual companies, Nippon Yusen (40th→14th) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (72nd→25th) significantly improved their rankings to be listed in the upper ranks.

On the other hand, "Consulting and Think Tanks," which have driven the job hunting market in recent years, slightly decreased from 19.2% to 18.6%, and "IT" saw a significant drop in share from 18.2% to 13.0%. Looking at individual companies, popular firms such as Rakuten Group (13th→93rd), Accenture (14th→32nd), and Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting (27th→75th) all saw a decrease in their vote share, indicating symbolic fluctuations that pushed down the overall figures for the industry.

Average expected annual income is "9.3 million yen" - Strict company selection in an era of inflation

[Image: Expected Annual Income at Age 30 (in 10,000 yen)]

[Image: Items students prioritize when choosing a company (selected from 40 items)]

"10 million yen in their 30s" - Inflation boosts expectations for high income

A survey on "expected annual income at age 30" revealed that the average was "9.3 million yen," an increase of 250,000 yen from 9.05 million yen last year. Furthermore, over 40% of students desire an annual income of 10 million yen or more, and against the backdrop of inflation and rising prices, the concentration on industries and companies promising high incomes is accelerating. In fact, "prospects for high future income" maintained its undisputed No. 1 position from the previous year among the items students prioritize when choosing a company (selected from 40 items).

"Sense of security" in addition to "challenge." "Friendly workplace environment" rapidly rises to the top 3.

While seeking high annual income, there are changes in work values. Among factors for company attractiveness, "providing a friendly workplace environment," which was 6th last year, rapidly rose to 3rd place. Additionally, "competitive benefits" moved up from 10th to 9th place, while "challenging work" moved from 3rd to 4th, but is still considered important. This suggests that 2027 graduate students are strictly seeking economic "practical benefits" while simultaneously desiring a "safe environment where they can challenge themselves within good human relationships," rather than an overly competitive environment. These real changes among 2027 graduate students are evident.

"Realist" 2027 graduate students seeking "practical benefits x sense of security." What evidence for recruitment strategies is now required in management meetings?

The data from this spring survey confirmed that the trends of "concentrated popularity in trading companies" and "decline in IT and consulting" are not temporary phenomena from the autumn/winter period but have become established trends for the entire 2027 graduate cohort.

In today's recruitment market, where changes are rapid and companies and industries clearly show varying fortunes, recruitment methods relying on past successes are becoming obsolete. It is urgent to re-evaluate specific recruitment strategies based on "correct primary information" regarding the latest values of the target demographic.

By utilizing the detailed survey data provided by our company, macro trends for your company, competitors, and students become clear, allowing you to quantitatively demonstrate "why your company can win and how it should compete" in the recruitment market. This enables you to confidently present evidence in management meetings and eliminate unnecessary decision-making and allocation of recruitment resources.

Companies interested in understanding their position or utilizing data for future recruitment strategies are encouraged to contact us.

▶︎ For inquiries and material requests regarding the detailed data of this survey, please click here: https://www.recme.jp/for-company/

"2027 Graduate Spring Popular Company Ranking (Jan-Mar)" Survey Overview

1. Survey Target:

・Target students: University and graduate students expected to graduate in 2027 from the University of Tokyo, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, Waseda University, Keio University, Kyoto University, Osaka University, Kobe University, Hokkaido University, Tohoku University, Nagoya University, Kyushu University.

2. Survey Period: January 2026 - March 2026

3. Survey Method:

・Collected through joint career fairs hosted by our company or web questionnaires for our members.

・Students selected their top 5 preferred companies from approximately 400 companies listed by our company.

4. Valid Responses: 2,002 respondents (69.5% male, 30.5% female)

※1 Former Imperial Universities, Waseda, and Keio: Refers to former Imperial Universities (Hokkaido, Tohoku, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Osaka, Kyushu), Keio University, Waseda University, Hitotsubashi University, Tokyo Institute of Technology, and Kobe University.

※2 For inquiries regarding this release, please contact: https://www.recme.jp/about/company_contact/

About the Operating Company

Company Name: Leadingmark Inc.

Representative: Yuji Iida, President and CEO

Established: January 2008

Location: Toranomon 33 Mori Building 10F, 3-8-21 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo 105-0001

Corporate Website: https://www.leadingmark.jp/

Recruitment Website: https://recruit.leadingmark.jp/

Business Activities: HR business through "Personality Tech"

- "Mikiwame AI Aptitude Test" that identifies employees who can thrive in your company in 10 minutes.

- "Mikiwame AI Well-being Survey" that visualizes employees' mental states and provides advice based on personality to achieve well-being.

- "Mikiwame AI Management" that maximizes employee performance starting from 1on1s.

- "Mikiwame Shūkatsu," Japan's largest job hunting support service for high-achieving students.

- "NEXVEL," a membership-based job hunting support program.

- "Mikiwame Lab," a blog providing information on aptitude tests, HR, recruitment, and more.