Japan's Labor Productivity: Updated Jan. 1, 2025.

 

Japan's labor productivity ranks 29th among 38 OECD members in 2023

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20241228/p2g/00m/0bu/016000c

Ideas:

One reason for the low productivity in Japan might be the long hours that workers at large Japanese companies work. If they maybe worked less hours their productivity might improve.

Output maybe doesn't need to improve as working less hours will lead to a higher output ratio. Most of the G7 countries work less hours but Japan works longer hours which could result in a skewed productivity response.

At the same time, if Japan had a better work-life balance that too might improve productivity of Japanese companies, as maybe Japanese workers wouldn't be so stressed out everyday from working long hours.

Many of the European countries, and especially the northern European counties have better working conditions, better working hours and better work-life situations compared to Japan, and they have higher productivity levels too.

Unfortunately not all large Japanese companies are moving into the 21st century as some companies seem to be stuck in their traditional Japanese ways and not modernizing that much. For example it wasn't until a few years ago that many Japanese companies were still using fax machines and not using email that much.

For example some or many Japanese universities for professor jobs still require candidates to mail their resume and other documents instead of sending them by email.

While customer service at Japanese service companies is some of the best in the world, Japan is still stuck with a lot of red tape and procedural nonsense, which slows down customer service and unfortunately there is a lot paperwork involved in many Japanese situations. 

For example when in Japan and buying some duty free items there is a lot of paperwork to fill out which makes the entire process less than desirable for tourists.

And its even worse for Japanese citizens as Japan seems to like paperwork for many menial situations.

Japanese companies are a little behind related to technology innovation, as again, they just recently just got rid of using their fax machines at many Japanese offices.

Reskilling sounds good and many Japanese companies are considering it but its expensive too, which might cause some companies to think twice about reskilling. 

While there is a labor shortage in Japan, and probably some companies are considering AI in the workplace not all companies can afford to do it, as it too might be expensive.

Japan is a society of person to person relationships including service workers at department stores or other places where human contact is needed and important. It will be hard to change Japanese societies minds about using AI technology in service dependent businesses. 

Have a nice day!