The number of applicants for this spring's Japanese career-track national civil service examinations for fiscal 2025 fell 11.6 percent from the previous year to a record-low 12,028, an administrative agency said Monday.

The drop is believed to stem from private companies recently offering higher starting salaries to attract promising students, making the public sector less appealing in comparison, according to the National Personnel Authority.

An official of the authority acknowledged that the government has "lagged behind" private firms in recruitment efforts, pledging to expand information sessions, increase exam opportunities and improve salaries and working conditions for bureaucrats down the road.

Among the applicants, 5,329 were women, accounting for a record-high 44.3 percent of the total. The exams will begin next Sunday, with the final list of successful candidates to be announced on May 30. Around 760 individuals are expected to be hired.