A couple approach a young woman on a Tokyo street and ask her if she is interested in pursuing a new career.

This is not an attempt to recruit a young girl for a seedy modeling job, but a major life insurance company trying to find a saleswoman.

Big name firms are out looking for new employees on the street because they are under pressure to stem the declining numbers of "seiho ladies," or insurance saleswomen, the driving force behind Japan's insurance industry.