Recruit Holdings controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
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2019
Rikunabi DMP Follow data-use controversy
Recruit Career’s Rikunabi DMP Follow service analyzed student data and generated scores concerning the likelihood that students would decline job offers or withdraw during recruitment. Regulators found that users had not received adequate explanation of the data use and sharing. The service was terminated, Recruit and Recruit Career received administrative action, and the group committed to stronger privacy governance, product review, centralized data-management controls, and employee training.
1988
Recruit scandal
The scandal began when unlisted shares in Recruit Cosmos were found to have been transferred to influential individuals shortly before the subsidiary went public. The investigation expanded to political, bureaucratic, business, and telecommunications figures. Twelve people were prosecuted for accepting or offering bribes, convictions followed, and the affair contributed to the resignation of Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita’s cabinet. Recruit’s founder was later convicted, with the related legal process ending in 2003. The disclosure of pre-listing transfers of Recruit Cosmos shares to influential politicians, officials, business leaders, and other prominent individuals produced a major political scandal. The episode severely damaged Recruit's credibility, led to resignations and investigations, and affected the company's subsequent restructuring and ownership history.