The days of Japan as the No. 1 business model for the world are long gone, but a new and perhaps more interesting model combining Japanese and Western elements seems to be developing. Unfortunately, the transition from a system based on lifelong employment, seniority and unthinking loyalty to one's company to one with more mobility, meritocracy and a "cooler" work ethic is, according to recent media reports, being achieved at terrible human cost.
A feature article in the Yomiuri Weekly (July 7), for example, reports a rise in restructuring and overwork-related suicides from the late 1990s. One large trading company has lost eight workers to suspected suicide over the past two years from among staff posted overseas. Trading companies have been particularly hard hit as the Internet steals their middleman role. Those in the field often endure micromanaging from the main office in Tokyo.
Employees in many other Japanese companies as well suffer from increased workloads and responsibilities as the number of workers is reduced through restructuring and limited new hiring, while the amount of work to be done remains the same.