Japan and Happiness: Updated May 31, 2024.

 

Only 57% of Japanese feel 'happy,' 3rd lowest rate among 30 countries: survey

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240524/p2a/00m/0na/010000c

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Ideas:

There is this idea or stereotype that Asian societies place more emphasis on wealth and what it takes to be wealthy and successful and happiness is not high on the list.

All of the above ideas/reasons might be true, it still comes down to each individual person regarding happiness, but we live in the 21st century with globalization in most of the world today, and people can see what other feel and do and that could influence the people in how they think.

Asian societies, for the most part, still place emphasis on sacrifice and getting ahead even if that means not being happy.

To be fair, even though a sample group of 2,000 is still statistically significant, just 2,000 really doesn't say that much. 

Maybe 57% is still good, as maybe its impossible to expect to get 100% of people happy about all things in an society or an economy.

Its no surprise that South Korea too, was at the bottom as, for the most part, South Korea is all about wealth and status and getting to the top. South Korea, in the OECD, has one of the highest, if not the highest suicide rates among young people, as they have to be perfect in everything, grades, university,  job, marriage, house, and so on. 

All of the above for Japan might be true as with South Korea as most/many in South Korean society.

In todays world, in many societies and economies, there is just too much stress related to many things compared to 10, 20, 30 or 50 years ago. There are just too many distractions and other things that people can be unhappy about.

Some might say life was simpler many years ago, but people back in the day had their own set of factors that could make them unhappy, but today the variables that can make people unhappy seem to be out of control, and many people are overwhelmed with all of the factors in society that they have to deal with.

Not to talk too much about it but mental health, these days, its a major challenge for all societies, as more and more people are experiencing mental health challenges as the factors, again, they have to deal with can be overwhelming for many.

Again, maybe the variables mentioned above were present back in the day, but with today's media and other things, the variables can seen overwhelming to many in society.

There is no easy answer to being happy or how to make an society all happy and what has the Netherlands done, what has Mexico done, what has Indonesia done in their societies that makes most people happy.   

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan's Real Wages: Ideas Later: Updated May 2, 2024.

 

Japan's real wages down for 2nd straight year in FY 2023

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240523/p2g/00m/0bu/023000c

Ideas:

Maybe its not doable but companies should increase wages on a monthly basis and not just in April, the beginning of the new year. Of course Japanese companies are not directly responsible for inflation except for the increase in prices in Japan by most companies. And of course most Japanese companies can't afford to increase wages every time inflation increases or companies would go bankrupt. 

The real challenges seems to be the Japanese yen and imports as imports prices remain high and import companies have to pass-on their costs to the next in the supply chain, which might be the final customer eventually.

And then there is the variance between the US key rate and the Japanese key rate, which keeps the Japanese yen weak, as the US rate is around 5.5 percent and the Japanese rate is around 0.

wage increases need to be offered by all companies or as many as possible, for example large companies, midsize companies, and small companies too. If not there is going to be, if not already, an economy of haves, meaning large companies workers and have nots meaning midsize and small company workers who didn't get a wage increase or not as much as large company workers.

And yes, small and midsize companies might not have the resources that large companies have and their profit margins just can't afford wage increases compared to large companies.

Of course in a market economy there are always going to be some better off, large companies and those not so better off, small and midsize companies, who don't have the resources of the large companies.

The Prime Minister can pressure companies but companies don't have to follow exactly what the Prime Minister asks as its only a suggestion and not a law, and maybe many companies still have weak profit margins and maybe don't have any room for the size of wage increases the Prime Minister is suggesting of 5% + wage increases. 

Nominal wages are not the most important indicator as real wages tell the real story and they show what the effect is on the average Japanese workers.

If for example if inflation was not as high or continuous and the Japanese yen was not as weak, and the US rate and Japanese rate were close to being equal, then the Japanese economy might be more calm and relaxed and companies then could easily increase wages as needed to meet the Prime Minister's suggestions. 

Most Japanese households probably still feel inflation and are still cutting back on some things in their budgets as maybe consumer sentiment, or consumer feeling is not so good right now, meaning Japanese consumers are not spending as much, due their the downbeat feeling, continued inflation, and a decrease in real wages.

But that seems to be the nature of the Japanese economy, as is it never reaches its potential and consumers spending, being about 50% of the Japanese GDP is never where it should be in the 4th largest economy in the world.

You would think the younger generations of Japanese workers would be the big spenders in the Japanese economy, but that is not what is happening as pensioners are leading the way in spending in the Japanese economy, as a recent article suggested.

As indicated, the challenges is not nominal wages for full-time workers at 438,696 yen, but the real challenge is the sad state of affairs for contract workers and part-time workers in Japan at 105, 989 yen. 

There might be a significant set of the Japanese population that work either part-time and or contract work at lower wages than full-time workers.

Unfortunately, maybe many Japanese companies have adopted western style business practices and have used contract workers and part-time workers a lot as a way to reduce costs in their companies.

Its not good for the Japanese economy, or any economy, or society, which just uses a lot of part-time workers and contract workers as an economy can grow to its maximum without normal wages.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Core Inflation Slow: Updated June 7, 2024.

 

Japan's core inflation slows to 2.2% in April on food, services

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240524/p2g/00m/0bu/007000c

Ideas:

The pace may have slowed, which of course is good, but when inflation has risen for almost 2 straight years, it can add up for Japanese households and businesses.

The Bank of Japan might want a inflation target of 2 percent, but it hasn't been able to achieve for a very long time. Of course the weak Japanese yen is part of the challenge, as a weak yen increases import prices on many things.

Perhaps the Bank of Japan should have a more flexible inflation target of 2 to 3 percent and that way it might be able to achieve its goal.

The Japanese economy has/was in a state of deflation for many years, if not decades, as consumer demand has not reached its potential, which means companies decreased prices as a way to stimulate demand for their businesses.

At the same time, due to the Toyota decision in the early 2000's not to increase wages. many if not all companies did the same thing, and only the past year as companies finally began to increase wages, which will help the Japanese economy to get out of its deflation situation.

People in Japan has told me that 5,000 yen used to buy a lot at a Japanese supermarket but these days it hardly buys anything at all.

Perhaps, as anywhere, consumer got used to lower prices and as inflation has continued on for a few years, maybe Japanese consumers are still not used to the price increases.

And as inflation has continued each month or near each month, it means the extra income of Japanese households has continued to decrease, which means of course less spending in the Japanese economy overall.

But there is always going to be  subset of any economy which doesn't feel the affects of inflation or the affects of less extra income that they can use in the economy.

Energy prices and maybe overall utility prices are beginning to stabilize and not expected to continue to increase overtime.

The service sector, which is a broad category of many different subsectors, might be increasing prices as a way to makeup for the losses during the pandemic as the service sector was hit the hardest during the pandemic.

At the same time, as foreign tourists pour into Japan, service companies might also be increasing prices due the the increased demand from foreign tourists.

As government subsidies begin to be lost, energy companies no doubt will have to increase prices to keep their profits margins intact.

And as the same time, as the Japanese yen remains weak, that could mean energy import prices too are going to remain high in the future.

Consumption or consumer spending by Japanese households can be both a boom or a bust in the coming months depending on wage increases. If all Japanese companies increase wages then it could be a boost for the Japanese economy, but if only large companies increase wages then it could be the continuation of the haves, large companies, and have nots, small and midsize companies in the future.

Its going to take some time, maybe not until the July-September quarter for the full affect of wages increases are seen in the Japanese economy.

Japanese workers will decide how much to spend in the Japanese economy and how much to save or some combination of both.

There has to be a balance in an economy between savings and spending and too much of either is not good for a balanced economy.

But too, the Japanese economy needs some kind of boost or shot, like a major surge in consumer spending to get over the so-called deflation period that it has been in for maybe three decades.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japanese Firms and Wage Hikes: Updated June 14, 2024.

 

Japanese firms offer highest pay hike in 32 yrs in spring wage talks

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240520/p2g/00m/0bu/043000c

Ideas:

 Wage increase are good, even more if its over the current inflation rate. And yes, a brain drain is very possible, as even in Japan workers now will move to companies that offer higher wages.

19,480 is a good number but again, will it help to cover the increases related to inflation that many Japanese households are now experiencing.

But the problem is, and maybe mentioned later in this article, that many small and midsize companies didn't give the same wage increase as large Japanese companies.

The average for all companies might have been 3.99 percent while large companies had a wage increase of 5.58 percent, which slows a large variance between small and large companies.

In defense of small and mid-size companies they most likely don't have the needed resources to offer the same wage increases as large Japanese companies.

And then there is the idea, that many small and mid-size companies are suppliers to large companies and large companies might not like the idea of the small supplier companies pass-on their wage increases in prices.

The Toyota group is the company that might have started the deflation situation, when in the early 2000's as a way to remain competitive with Chinese companies, decided not to offer any wage increases and it was that way, mostly up until last year.

And then all companies followed Toyota with no wage increases for many years, which might have contributed to the deflation/inflation situation.

The problem or challenge is, Japanese companies follow the market leader and or the company with the most economic power, which in this case is/was Toyota, so they did what Toyota did with no wage increases.

The sectors mentioned, steelmakers, machine makers, and shipbuilders, are all heavy industry companies and, these days, it might be getting harder to find quality talent to work in these industries and or the companies are not near or in the main metro areas and younger workers might not want to work in a smaller city.

Non-manufacturers, which are usually service sector companies usually have profit margins that can't handle large wage increases.

As I surveyed a well-known hotel business in Japan, and looked at the prices just to see if they have gone up, they have increased significantly. The hotel is a well-known business type hotel but it seems their prices seem very high now.

But it not surprising as the hotel business in Japan is probably doing very good now, and making up for lost revenue during the pandemic.

And of course as demand is high companies increase their prices so it not a surprise that this hotel chain increased it prices.

Anything over 5 percent is good, but again, unfortunately, maybe many small and mid-size companies didn't get the same kind of wage increases.

But whether good or not so good, that is a market economy, where larger companies have more resources and smaller companies don't have the same resources.

The challenge is, as usual, an economy of haves, large companies, and an economy of have nots, small and midsize companies, which is going show up in less consumer spending in the Japanese economy, over time.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Workers And Relocation: Update June 21, 2024.

 

69% in Japan would think about quitting if ordered to relocate for job: poll

Article Source:   https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240516/p2a/00m/0bu/028000c 

Ideas:

Maybe many years ago Japanese workers were willing to relocate as needed as workers back then were more dedicated to the company and did what the company wanted or needed.

The idea of being promoted to a higher level job, these day, its not as appealing to some workers in big companies.

For example. in South Korea, many large companies are considering the idea of a 6 day workweek, again, as a way to remain competitive with US tech companies, but some South Korean employees are refusing promotions that put them in the management level positions which would require them to work 6 days a week.

The younger generations maybe don't feel the need to relocate and or for a promotion these days, and maybe with reasons, as employee works needs are not the same as years ago.

Companies and especially large companies need to be aware of what workers want and need today, but at the same time, it might be impossible to meet the needs of every employee.

Some Japanese companies are becoming more and more global and might or might not require Japanese workers to relocate to overseas posts.

But some or many Japanese, as the article suggests maybe are not willing to move overseas for a year or two, as needed.

All of the reasons above, are very good reasons to not relocate to another work location, especially if its overseas. If the location is in Japan, lets say from Toyoko to Sapporo, or Osaka, it might be a not so hard decision but to relocate to foreign country, even an advanced foreign company might not appeal to some.

Accept it with conditions seems to be important for many and some kind of allowance including rent assistance seems important to some.

Working remotely, chosen by 51% is unclear, as does it mean work remotely in the home in Japan or overseas.

And there are a lot of good reasons not to relocate and maybe family situations, parents, children, homes etc. would make it difficult for many these days.

The world of work and the environment surrounding work as changed a lot in the past 20 or so years, but maybe some large Japanese companies have not kept up with the mood of the worker today, and as such many workers have multiple responsibilities and not just job needs.

Its not going to be easy for companies to send workers overseas as they will need to consider all factors and provide the needed compensation if they want workers to relocate.

Promotions today are not important for many workers as work/life experiences are far more important than advancing to a management level position in a company.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan and Foreign Visitors: Updated May 17, 2024.

 

Foreign visitors to Japan top 3 mil. for 2nd straight month in April

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2g/00m/0li/053000c

Ideas:

Tourism in Japan is always a fragile situation. While foreign tourists spend a lot of money in Japan, due to the weak yen, there are challenges with foreign tourists and the idea of over-tourism or too many foreign tourists causing problems in Japan, such as again, over-crowding, not respecting Japanese customs or culture and going to places that cause too much stress for the local population.

Japan is usually a very clean place but if foreign tourists just drop trash on the street or road, for example, it gives a bad impression to the Japanese about foreign tourists. Of course in Tokyo and the Shinjuku area, young Japanese students do the same thing and leave trash everywhere too.

The Bank of Japan knows it has a balancing act to keep the domestic economy and the tourism economy in a good balance, and if it increases the key interests rate, the Japanese yen could become much stronger, which means it could deter some foreign tourists from going to Japan and spending money.

Its very possible, that some areas of Japan could impose a tourism tax as a way to keep foreign tourists in line and or help pay for the services needed related to all of the tourists, for example that visit Osaka or Kyoto.

Right now, after the latest report of the Japanese economy contracting, inbound foreign tourists might be the only thing keeping the Japanese economy from completely contracting too much, as tourists spend a lot of money in Japan.

Again, if the Bank of Japan does actually increase the key rate, and the US decreases its key rate, and both rates come closer together, in the future, it could cause the Japanese yen to become stronger and then foreign tourists might think the yen has become too much for them and maybe they will think twice about going to Japan, which could cause challenges for some businesses in Japan like the pandemic did.

Its interesting that before the pandemic, there were some not so good ideas in South Korea about Japan, but it seems money solves all situations, a joke, as the weak Japanese yen, helped solve the issues between South Korea and Japan.

China is having it own issues at this time, and maybe the issue with Japanese seafood might be keeping some Chinese tourists away from taking trips to Japan.

To be honest, I never thought much about tourism and Taiwan, but it seems the Taiwanese are keen on Japan too.

While Indonesia and Malaysia are sizable Muslim populations they enjoy many Japanese products in their home countries and they too, despite the far away distance want to experience Japan.

Just what is the breaking point for tourism in Japan, meaning how many tourists can Japan actually handle.

There is talk now, that there are too many tourists in some places and also the idea that some, or many, are not following the rules in Japan and causing considerable challenges for the local Japanese population.

Again, there might be a tourist tax, that will be used to help clean up the streets and other problems that foreign tourists cause, and if they do get to 60 million, which is possible but not probable right away, it might put too much stress on the local Japanese population.

The weak yen is great for foreign tourists in Japan but not so good for Japanese tourists who want to travel to other countries or areas such as the EU and the US.

Have a good day and be safe!

Japan Economy Contraction: Updated June 16, 2024.

 

Japan's economy contracts annualized real 2.0% in Jan.-March

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240516/p2g/00m/0bu/017000c

Ideas:

This is a common trend with the Japanese economy, some quarters, a slight increase and then some quarters a slight decrease in GDP. But to be fair, the Japanese economy never completely collapses as always testers on some slight increase or some slight decrease.

And another common trend has been consumer spending, or domestic demand, has never been where is should be as the 4th largest economy in the world.

You would expect the 4th largest economy to have a larger consumer demand base but that doesn't or has never been the case for the Japanese economy. Even though consumer spending is estimated to be about 50 percent of GDP, it never seems that it that much.

An annualized contraction is if the economy stayed the same for 4 quarters, but of course an economy, any economy, never does that, as there are many different sectors involved in a economy.

And yes the Toyota group situation might have reduced export sales and shipments as it could be a challenge related to future exports in the future.

A rate hike is usually never called for when there is slow growth, and a rate decrease is the usual strategy, but in Japan's situation, maybe they have had a low interest rate policy for a little too long.

The Bank of Japan might increase the rate during the summer, but they of course will be cautious as they don't want to scare the financial markets with too much of an increase.

At the same time, the Bank of Japan knows it needs to be be very careful about how it handles the weak Japanese yen, and a weak yen is very good for foreign tourists who go to Japan and spend a lot as the weak yen gives them more purchasing power.

But there is also the idea that many/some locals are becoming unhappy with the foreign tourists in Japan, with regard to how they behave in Japan, and maybe some might think there are now too many foreign tourists entering Japan.

So the Bank of Japan, just might try to increase the weak Japanese yen, as a way to discourage come foreign tourists, as maybe a stronger yen might be too much for some tourists.

Again, consumer spending has never been one of the strong parts of the Japanese GDP, as it seems exports have always carried the Japanese economy, and maybe too much.

And of course government spending has always been a strong component of Japan's GDP, as for the most part, the Japanese government is a big spending government.

So the Japanese government is more like a EU government and not like the US, but in recent years the US government has spent a lot too.

For example, the Japanese government debt to GDP is the highest or one of the highest among advanced economies and OECD countries.

Exports seem to be more important than consumer spending in the Japanese economy, as consumer spending, again, just doesn't seem to be that much compared to exports,

And yes, the Japanese car industry, with 8 or 9 car companies are a major economic driver in the Japanese economy.

But these days not just the Toyota group, but all Japanese car companies have become targets of government inspections into testing situations.

Nominal GDP is really not that important as the real GDP and real wages are what affects the average Japanese household.

The average Japanese household doesn't think real or nominal, as it only sees its wages as what is important and how much it goes related to continued inflation in Japan.

Again, the Japanese economy always continues onward and never really collapses, as it move up or down and even if it is a 600 trillion yen, its a very stable economy, with periods of up and down.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Convenience Stores and Foreign Workers: Updated June 28, 2024.

 

Over 80,000 foreigners working at convenience stores in Japan

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2g/00m/0bu/063000c

Ideas:

While 80.000 foreigners or 10 percent of the part-time workforce doesn't seem like much, its a telling example of what is not working in Japan and young Japanese workers.

For example, when visiting Yokohama, I only see foreign workers/part-time workers at the convenience stores and occasionally some older workers. The same at McDonalds and Mos Burger, as I only see older senior citizen type workers there.

What is the reason for the lack of Japanese young students, college age students and working at convenience stores in Japan? 

Is the minimum wage not enough for them. are the hours not suited for what they need as university students, are they, as Japanese university students afraid of the work at convenience stores in Japan?

It might be a labor shortage situation or it might be a trend, a global trend, as young workers just don't want to do some kinds of work these days.

At the same time, if and when I go to Starbucks in Yokohama, I always see young Japanese workers working at Starbucks. So what is the difference between Starbucks and convenience stores in Japan. Most likely its the part-time wage offered and the prestige of working at Starbucks instead of a convenience store or a fast food place, which again, I don't see many young Japanese workers.

And the last paragraph might be key to what there are not a lot of young Japanese workers at convenience stores as many operate 24 hours a day and young Japanese students, how go to universities, it doesn't fit their schedule.

But we can say the same for foreign workers, as most, if not all are university students or Japanese language school students.

But really is the problem here that not many young Japanese college students are working at convenience stores? Is it the wage offered and maybe convenience stores can legally pay foreign workers less but still the minimum wage in Japan might not be enough to satisfy Japanese university students.

Lets be positive and say that its mostly a labor shortage of young workers in Japan, as there just isn't enough young Japanese to do all the needed part-time work required in Japan.

But, at the same time, the situation is very similar to what is happening in South Korea, as many young South Korean students, university students, don't want to do some kinds of work, or even some kinds of work when they graduate from a university.

But I don't see many foreign workers in South Korea, yet, as the labor situation either doesn't allow foreign workers to do some things, and or some companies don't want to hire foreign workers just yet. So in that way Japan is years ahead of South Korea in using foreign labor.

The only significant group in South Korea might be Chinese Koreans who might work at restaurants but never in the more prestigious jobs which are for South Koreans only.

South Korea is just beginning to finally really open up to foreign workers and not just factory type jobs but finally other types of jobs too.

South Korea doesn't have the same kind of labor shortage that Japan has but it does related to small companies where many university graduates don't want to work there, as most prefer the large name-brand companies to work for.

As such many small companies, especially factory type companies have to hire foreign nationals to work for them, as they can't get enough South Korean workers.

Its a positive if a Chinese tourists can maybe see a Chinese working at a convenience store in Japan and maybe its good for the Chinese workers to interact with Japanese customers too.

Maybe this has become a problem in Japan, as its definitely a problem in South Korea, as many young South Korean workers will play with their smartphones while working too. 

But to be fair, I've never seen it in a Japan Starbucks or any other business places in Japan, as maybe there are rules prohibiting the use of smartphones while working.

Again, its telling that Japanese convenience stores can't fill all of their shifts, but at the same time is understandable that some young Japanese workers don't want to work the late night shifts or the 12 to 7 in the morning shifts.

Perhaps convenience stores, as Japanese society is changing, don't need to stay open 24 hours but maybe close at midnight and open again at 6 the next morning.

Of course its good that there are more foreign nationals working at Japanese convenience stores, but to be fair, does it really matter if a Japanese national or foreign national is behind the counter when you bring your food or things to pay for.

As Japanese society shrinks, due to a decreasing birthrate, there might be the need for expansion in the convenience store industry, but not the need is for improvement in quality and innovation related to better customer service.

However, that doesn't mean replacing the existing staff and going to only all automated self-check out stores.

Even in convenience stores customers want to see real people and don't want the hassle of self-check outs.

There needs to be some kind of balance between automation and continue quality customer service, which Japan is noted for.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Irregular Workers: Updated July 10, 2024.

 

Report on spring labor talks shows Japan's irregular workers mostly left behind

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240515/p2a/00m/0bu/027000c

Ideas:

Irregular workers, by some or many, are not seen as being important in the work place and maybe especially in Japan. Most irregular workers in Japan, are probably women workers and or student workers going to university and can't work full-time. For women, they might be women with children and they too can't work full-time.

But there are those in the work force, who for whatever reason, just can't seen to find full-time, full benefit type jobs, but they are fully capable if given a chance for a full-time job.

Unfortunately, companies try to limit their costs by hiring more irregular workers and limit the number of full-time workers, as much as possible.

It might be good for share-holders and stockers and their stock dividends, but its a negative for an economy if irregular workers are not given good wages.

Not to criticize, but how can companies, in good conscience, give such small wage increases to maybe those who do most of the work in a company.

It just goes to show, even in Japan, the part-time, the irregular workers, are not seen as being important in the workplace.   

Service type companies have very thin profit margins and maybe some of them don't have the resources to give wage increases as needed for their workers, so they do what they can.

The challenge, these days in Japan, is there is a labor shortage, so companies need to increases wages as a way to keep workers and or entice new workers to to work for them.

Unfortunately, there are companies like the Shuppan company that either don't care about their workers or think they can easily just replace that worker if he/she complains too much.

Part of the problem might be related to share-holders and stock-holders who demand a certain profit from the company and the company prioritizes shareholders over company employees.

Irregular workers are at the bottom of the workers hierarchy, and as such don't get much credit for anything, and as such, because their wages are so small they don't spend in the economy and can't do much in the economy.

Its like a entire segment of Japanese society is shut-out of spending and or contributing in any way.

Again, logistics and food industry companies might be service or quasi-service type companies and as such, have very thin profit margins which might prevent them from giving irregular workers with the needed wage increases.

But yes, as seen in the article, there are a few good companies that have rewarded irregular workers and given them wage increases befitting their value as stakeholders in the company.

Japan used to be the exception and regarded all workers as important stakeholders in a company, but those days might be long gone, as now Japanese companies have become too westernized and only think of the share-holder or stock-holder as the most important group in a company, and the workers are no longer value stakeholders but, but for some companies just commodities that can be easily replaced.

Irregular workers are just important for the Japanese economy as are full-time regular workers and they should be rewarded just as much as regular full-time workers with a livable wage, as much as possible. 

But unfortunately, in Japan, maybe many irregular workers are working women who can't work full-time as they are raising children too, and or they work for service companies that seem to claim their profit margins are just too thin to give irregular workers a decent wage increase.

So again, there are haves and have-nots in the Japanese society/economy, and some or many are going to be left out and not able to fully participate in the Japanese economy, and maybe just live on a so-called survivable wage.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Golden Week Travel: Update May 20, 2024.

 

Less domestic travelers seen in Japan's Golden Week amid inflation

Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240511/p2g/00m/0na/037000c

Ideas:

Also the idea that some or many people might be tired to having to travel during the Golden Week period, and or don't want to be among the large crowds that go to the trendy places.

As far as accommodation feels go, its quite possible that many hotels have increased prices as way to make up for their losses during the pandemic, when the service sector was hit the hardest with layoffs and closures.

And yes, as foreign tourists increase, meaning demand increases hotels will naturally increase prices. The weak yen has a lot of positives for the Japanese economy, but at the same time there are just as many negatives for the economy.

Real wages are always the key as they are a purchasing power variable that affects most people in an economy. As inflation cuts into their extra income households realize they need to cut back on something as they see travel it a way to cut spending, as they can't cut too much related to households energy spending.

And maybe rural households saw they don't have the extra funds to travel to any of the trendy populations area as their funds have been reduced.

And again, maybe this Golden Week period, with the huge increase in foreign tourists that might have turned off many Japanese, especially in the rural areas who usually don't see much foreigners around their area.

This could be a coming trend, as maybe Japanese tourists are not going to travel as much as especially when everyone else travels, as maybe they don't want to be around huge crowds of people. And of course inflation might be another major reason for not traveling during the Golden Week period,

Kyoto and Tokyo will continue to get their share of tourists, both domestic and foreign, but maybe the domestic tourists, again, might start to stay away as they don't want to be around so many foreign tourists.

Yes, Japanese households, people, need to find ways to cut back and food and even electricity are unavoidable expenses so they cut back on things they can such a travel.

The year 2019, in Japan, and maybe globally seemed like a boom time year, and maybe there was wide spread travel and spending before the pandemic. It was kind of like the a travel and spending frenzy before the storm.

I traveled to Japan, Yokohama, twice in the fall of 2019, and it was during the Japan Rugby World Cup, but I wasn't there for the Rugby World Cup and everything in Japan, at that time, was like a festival, shoppers were going crazy.

It was also the time shoppers were buying a lot as in Nov. 1 the Japanese government was going to intact a sales tax increase which would put the sales tax at 10 percent.

There as now many ways to track the movement of people, and GPS and AI are now becoming very popular ways to see what is happening.

At the same time, maybe some retail stores and other companies are using AI to track the buying habit so shoppers and we might begin that in the coming months, not years as AI is moving fast.

Of course companies need to make sure they are using AI in an ethical way as to not impede the privacy of shoppers.

Have a nice day and be safe!!

Japan Teleworking: Updated May 28, 2024.

 

Teleworking in Japan shrinks after COVID, hybrid working on rise

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240512/p2g/00m/0li/008000c

Ideas:

Telework or hybrid work might be here to stay but it won't like it was during the pandemic. It seems hybrid work is the most possible option, being some days in the office and some days at home or a coffee shop.

There are probably some companies that require their workers to work only in the office, while some companies might be more progressive and want to meet the needs of their workers as much as possible.

For example, for working women, hybrid work might be the best option especially if they have young children.

The amount of hybrid work might depend on the sector and not just the company, although the culture of the company might play a big part of it.

Of course there are some sectors or jobs that can't accommodate hybrid work or even telework. But most office type jobs are the best category for hybrid work.

Teleworking or working away from the office at 2.3 days per week seems about right, as many workers want to work from home or a coffee shop and also go to the office during the week.

The idea that workers would continue to work remotely five or seven days a week might not have been doable or even realistic as Japan is, for the most part, a group culture so working  in the office is the most likely the preferred option of  many companies, with the idea too of allowing hybrid work of one or two days a week.

At the same time, as workers experienced remote work, they might want to continue it but maybe too, not everyday but a few days a week only, and again, especially working women with children. 

Of course, again, it all depends on the company as maybe some companies need workers there everyday or the CEO of boss prefers to see office workers everyday.

Its obvious that large city centers like Tokyo, with many large companies, with a lot of office workers, will have the largest percentage of remote or hybrid workers. 

At the same time, there is a chance or an opportunity for companies to be more flexible and allow some workers to live in the rural areas and work remotely too, and maybe go to the main office once or twice a month as needed.

There are many possibilities for remote work or hybrid work to be explored. For example, families, households, can live in Shizuoka or Kanagawa and still work for a Tokyo based company with hybrid or remote work and commute to the Tokyo office once or twice a week as needed.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japanese Workers Quitting Jobs: Updated July 16, 2024.

 

More Japan workers turning to job resignation services after holidays

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20240513/p2g/00m/0bu/002000c

Ideas:

In a market economy, there are always new innovations, and maybe there are private services now related to helping workers leave their current jobs.

In a way, its unfortunate, that maybe workers are afraid to offer their resignation in person, a as they might feel threatened or harassed for quitting.

Also, at the same time, its possible that many or some recent young graduates, didn't choose the right company and or it wasn't a good fit or them or they were not a good fit for the company.

Japan, for the most part, used to be a country that valued workers as being a important part of the company and they had considerable stakeholder value in the company.

But those days might be long gone, as Japan has transformed in a western style economy, with shareholder value and shareholders being the most important part of a company, and workers are just commodity these days.

If what is said is true, 1,400 customers who had problems related to their current or past company is a major problem.

But at the same time, to be fair to companies, many young workers, again, just can't handle any kind of stress when it comes to real life or real work life situations, which might require deadlines, being on time at work, actually working in the office and being somewhat productive and being responsible when working.

Not to critical, but it seems the younger generations of young workers maybe just can't do same things that the older generations did, but to be fair to the younger workers, why should they, for example, have to sit in company office for 8 or more hours a day if its not working out for them and or they just don't want to do it.

Yes, unfortunately companies miss-represent what the job is/was to be and when a new/young worker starts working at the company they are deeply disappointed with what they are going to do in the company.

Yes, immediate superiors should be more please and be more a people person, but, again, some are not and who knows why they keep working at that company if they are unpleasant to everyone.

But, again,  at the time, it might just be the young worker who can't handle any kind of criticism and or having redo tasks as needed, as some/many young workers have been spoiled from an early age and never had to grow up and be a independent adult too.

So it might not just the a company problem, these days a young worker problem, who just can't adjust to the work world and what companies expect of them.

Its unfortunate that there are bosses like this one who thinks he/she has to be a dictator instead of being more of a people person and treating people with more respect. Most likely he/she was treated the same way when he was a young worker in a company.

Again, unfortunately, companies might be desperate to get new workers, as there is a labor shortage in Japan, and they want to look glamorous and they will do and say things to get young workers into their company, but when the young workers or any worker gets there the situation might be very different.

The younger workers might quit, but the older workers, if in the same situation, might just stay and try to make the best as maybe they don't have many options.

Using Line, or any other app is now very common to get things done and of course it helps streamline tasks and helps workers in many different situations.

Its very unfortunate that there are some tough environments, and or there are some miss-matches between workers and companies, in many cases the company and or the workers didn't research really what the job involved, or the character of the new worker.

And yes, again, a young worker or any worker, if they are on a bad situation and have a choice they should leave that company as soon as possible if they can.

If there are now more than 100 companies offering services that help workers leave their job, that might be sign that either there are many not so good companies and or workers today just can't handle the same stress or not good situations that the previous generations did before and or workers today are not going to put up with not so good companies today.

But again, to be fair to companies, it might not be the company but the worker, and especially the young workers, today, and its a global situation as young workers, globally, expect a different work environment than the older generations had.

Yes, exactly, there might be many mismatches in values between younger workers and companies with old-fashioned cultures and its going to get worse if companies don't change, as the younger workers, these days, are not going to conform to the old-fashioned work cultures. And again its a global problem and not just a Japan work culture problem.

Yes, if a worker needs to be leave, just leave and find a qualified lawyer if the situation is just that bad.

You would think, maybe, if enough young people in a company suddenly quit, then maybe the company would think twice about what it needs to do to get young workers to work for them, and what does the company need to do the keep their young workers.

Because of the labor shortage in Japan, some companies might be getting very desperate and are doing things not considered ethical or legal related to workers wanting to quit.

A company needs to be ethical and do things which are legal, but at the same time, there might be some workers, young and older, who are not ethical and not doing thing correctly in a company.

If a worker knows the company is going to do things, if he/she wants to quit, then its best to just go though the app services and don't say anything to the company, if they can do that, and save them from any negative situations with the company.

Have a nice day and be safe!