The economic fallout in Japan from the coronavirus has triggered a surge in nonpermanent workers seeking job-hunting advice, with some economists predicting unemployment could rise by over a million within a year, surpassing the fallout from the 2008-2009 global financial crisis.

"Your job ends in three days' time," a woman hired on a temporary contract for a front desk job at a Tokyo hotel was told by her boss earlier this month.

When she began the three-month contract in February, she was told the position was long-term and planned to renew in May.