More than a decade into the continuing economic malaise, corporate Japan's seniority-based wage and promotion system based on the notion of lifetime employment is being threatened as firms increasingly emphasize job performance.
The civil service is also facing pressure, as the national government ponders new rules for evaluating how bureaucrats perform.
Reform guidelines laid out by the Cabinet last December include the introduction of performance-based promotions, and to this end, the government is expected to compile legislation next year to revise the National Civil Service Law.