Faced with their worst labor shortage in decades, Japanese service companies are finally turning to labor-saving technology, an investment that could lift the sector's woeful level of productivity and allow them to raise wages. While the nation's manufacturers are renowned for deploying advanced robotics, most ...
The International Monetary Fund has called on Japan to promote the use of foreign workers and the participation of women and elderly people in the labor market as part of efforts to achieve firmer and sustained growth. In its assessment of the Japanese economy following ...
Japan's real wages in May gained 0.1 percent from a year earlier for the first rise in five months, the government said Friday. Total cash earnings per worker, including base and overtime pay, increased 0.7 percent to an average ¥270,241 (around $2,300), the second consecutive ...
The government compiled a plan Tuesday to ease visa restrictions for foreign workers in designated special economic zones to address the growing need for tourism services. The move signals a shift in the nation's immigration policy, which has traditionally focused on allowing only highly skilled ...
When do you become a senior citizen? That's an increasingly important question in Japan, demographically the world's oldest nation, where the challenge is to keep people healthy and productive as they live longer. The answer should be 75, 10 years older than many people think now, ...
Japan should tap the potential of young workers and encourage more people in their 30s and 40s to become chief executive officers, as part of a reform to revitalize the economy toward 2030, a government task force said Wednesday. Amid the graying of its society, ...
Winter bonuses at Japanese companies employing more than 500 people averaged ¥880,736 ($7,500), up 0.02 percent from the previous year and rising for the fourth straight year, the country's major business lobby said Wednesday. Winter bonuses at Japanese manufacturers averaged ¥900,490, up 0.47 percent and ...
The government has unveiled a draft guideline for a system of "equal pay for equal work" regardless of employment status. The draft, presented Tuesday at a government meeting for promoting employment reforms, stipulates that companies should provide equal payment to nonregular employees who engage in ...
Nagisa Hirai was an active child who loved playing soccer with the boys. But that early happiness dissipated on her first day at elementary school when she became frightened after being unable to find her classroom. Over time, she became a hikikomori, a Japanese term ...
Send us your construction workers, your care givers, your store clerks — but for a limited time only. That's the message from Japan, where the number of foreign workers, though still relatively small, has nearly doubled over the past eight years, and Prime Minister Shinzo ...
Hiroshi Suzuki had a fulfilling career in which he traveled the world as an engineer. Then, at age 65, he retired. That didn't last long. For the past seven years Suzuki, 72, has been a nursing aide in the Tokyo area, and says he's ...
Some companies are bringing retirees back into the office to pass on know-how gained through decades on the job. Such workers can offer valuable insights and placement agencies are increasingly accommodating them as Japan faces a looming labor shortage. Sakae Kajita, 67, retired two years ago ...
