The Monocle Minute

March marks the start of the job-hunting season for university students in Japan. Beginning this week, those due to graduate next spring will attend company recruitment events up and down the country. It’s a good year for graduating job hunters: government data released this week shows that the job-to-applicant ratio was 1:28 in January, the highest since December 1991. The nationwide job-hunt sticks to a fixed calendar laid out by the influential Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) – which represents more than 1,300 Japanese companies – with company open days taking place in March, interviews in June and job offers rolling in on 1 October. With all the talk of labour shortage in Japan, small companies say they need to work harder to sell themselves to potential employees this year.

The final section of Istanbul’s third bridge across the Bosphorus is due to be bolted in place later today. The Yavuz Sultan Selim Koprusu will be the widest suspension bridge in the world when it opens in August and will support rail that connects Istanbul’s two existing airports and forthcoming third airport. But the most striking thing about this latest continent crossing is how it stakes out Istanbul’s ever-growing sprawl: the city is rushing toward a population of 15 million and new figures show that eight provinces in Anatolia have more people living in Istanbul than back home. Housing and infrastructure are already pinched and situating the bridge between two quiet villages near the Black Sea is some indication of where this city is heading.

Canadian telecommunications giant Shaw could be on the verge of upending the country’s data market. After agreeing in January to sell its media division, including cable channel Global Television, for CA$2.65bn (€1.80bn) to Corus Entertainment, Shaw plans to use part of the money to buy foundering Wind Mobile for CA$1.6bn (€1bn). The acquisition marks Shaw’s entry into the wireless market, pitting itself directly against the nation’s big three data providers in the form of Rogers, Bell and Telus, which have so far managed to fend off upstart competitors with ease. Customers of the three – who were recently slapped with a price hike they could do nothing about – are hopeful that Shaw’s foray could lead to lower data bills.

The world’s first entirely painted feature film has just released its first trailer and is set to be released this year. The 80-minute movie Loving Vincent is about the life of Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh and has been oil painted in 56,800 frames by about 100 painters. Funded two years ago and created and directed by Dorota Kobiela, also a trained painter, the film used 800 of the letters left behind after Van Gogh’s death to trace his story. With the visuals replicating his own style the cinematic experience is sure to offer a faithful glimpse into the artist’s world.

One of the largest nations in Europe isn’t in the EU. And despite fresh talks between Turkey and EU leaders later this month, it’s unlikely to be joining any time soon.

Urban gardening: We spend a day on a farm in Berlin to find out how urban agriculture is taking root in the German capital.