Female job seekers look at maps of a job fair held for fresh graduates in Tokyo on March 20, 2016.PHOTO: REUTERS

Fifty Japanese graduates opted to gamble with their job prospects at a mahjong tournament set up by recruiters looking for a different way to find the next high flyer.
五十名日本畢業生選擇參加麻將競賽以爭取工作機會。招聘者們組織了這次打麻將活動，借此新方式發掘人才。

Held in a crammed mahjong outlet in downtown Tokyo, prospects competed against each other on Friday (June 24) to gain the chance to face recruiters from six companies in the fitness, education, technology and real estate sectors.
6月24日，應聘者們在東京市中心一間擁擠的麻將室里對壘，勝者將有機會直面六家公司的雇主。這六家公司來自健身、教育、技術和房地產領域。

"Mahjong is a very strategic game, so I think people who are good at it would be good at marketing. This is a new approach and I find it really interesting," candidate Tomoko Hasegawa, who is aspiring to become a designer, told Reuters.
候選人長谷川友子希望成為一名設計師。她告訴路透社說：“麻將是很講究策略的，所以我認為擅長麻將的人在營銷方面也會做得好。這是招聘的新方式，我覺得很有意思。”

Mahjong, which originated in China, is similar to the western card game, rummy, and players in Japan said the tile game required skill, strategy, calculation and a degree of chance.
起源于中國的麻將類似西方的拉米紙牌游戲。日本玩家表示，打麻將需要技巧、策略、計算和一定程度的運氣。

Organisers said the recruiting tournaments began in 2012 and had gained popularity, mostly among male students, and also with hirers, who say the game revealed more about the candidates than just long pages of resumes.
活動的組織者表示，麻將競聘發起于2012年，至今已有很高的人氣。主要在男性學生中受歡迎，雇主們也很喜歡。雇主說，打麻將比冗長的簡歷更能反映應聘者的情況。

On Friday, eight students advanced to the next round of the selection process.
周五，有八名學生晉級了下一輪考核。

Between five and ten students are recruited by participating companies every year, organisers said.
組織者說，每年有五到十名學生被參與活動的公司錄用。

英文來源：路透社
翻譯：實習生徐曉彤
編審：yaning