Small companies in Japan struggle with hiring as graduates vie for jobs in big firms

Tokyo

GRADUATE recruitment in Japan looks a bit like a scene from the movie The Matrix.

Hordes of students dressed in identical black suits and white shirts make the rounds of seminars, tests and interviews.

Even as jobs outnumber applicants, these "Agent Smiths" still fight it out for coveted positions at big-name companies, leaving smaller employers out in the cold.

"Popular firms in industries like finance have seven applicants for one job. For us, we have…