Recently it has been widely reported that the rate of effective demand for manpower in Japan has improved, with 1.08 job offers for every one job-seeker in April. That means, at least nominally, there were 8 percent more job openings than job-seekers at public employment security offices, known as Hello Work.

The media have loudly hailed this as an indication of the recovery of the Japanese economy — the positive influence of "Abenomics." Whatever the cause, we are inclined to welcome this situation with some optimism. But there needs to be a bit more scrutiny. Acute manpower shortages, for example, have been seen in the construction industry, where relatively cheap labor is required.

Such labor is also used in the information-technology industry, the food-processing industry and the service industry, including restaurants and bars, day care and nursing care, call centers and so on.