Around this time every year, I look forward to Suntory Holdings Ltd.’s newspaper ad.

I saw it in the April 1 edition of The Asahi Shimbun, albeit only in certain areas.

Addressed to young people who started working this spring, the ad copy read, “Right now, you are just an empty glass.”

The message must have meant: “Since all the glasses are the same size now, your school records don’t mean much anymore. The important thing is to understand the ‘core’ of your job, which is that making money is never your only goal.”

It was written by author Shizuka Ijuin,........

© The Asahi Shimbun