Would you trust an 80-year-old driver with your life on some of the developed world’s most complex streets?
If you’re one of the millions visiting Tokyo, you might have to, if a plan to raise the age limit for taxi drivers by five years from the current 75 proceeds. But if the idea of a cabdriver in their ninth decade gives you pause, you’re not alone: The discussion has met with criticism even in the typically elder-friendly local media, coming after years of programs encouraging older motorists to return their licenses amid an increase in accidents.
The talks indicate the need for increasingly radical suggestions to deal with a labor crunch that is hitting Japan’s services sector especially hard. As the economy has rebounded from COVID-19, the last of the slack in the jobs market has vanished. Over half of the country’s businesses say they can’t find enough full-time staff.