BOJ: Price HIkes:

 Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220209/p2g/00m/0bu/039000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- A Bank of Japan board member said Wednesday a recent push by companies to pass on higher costs to consumers may gain greater traction than expected, with price hikes spreading more widely in Japan.

BOJ Policy Board member Toyoaki Nakamura told a virtual meeting of business leaders in Yamanashi Prefecture, central Japan, that the country is expected to see core consumer inflation accelerate toward the central bank's 2 percent target, helped by a "moderate" price pass-through.

Still, he also acknowledged uncertainty remains over corporate price-setting behavior, warning higher raw material costs could eat into corporate profits if companies cannot go ahead with price hikes.

Ideas:

Most likely companies will feel they no longer have a choice and will have to pass on all or part of their supply cost increases. For years many Japanease companies have been reluctant to pass on any of their costs to the next in line, as Japanese consumers were/are very price senstive.

If the price increases are mild or moderate and or were just somewhat temporary companies might feel they gain wait and or ride-out the temporary supply cost increases. But it appears now that supply and energy cost increases are not a short-term or temporary situation but have become somewhat of a permanent situation.

As a result maybe companies can no longer play the waiting game, meaning they will try to absorb the price increases and now have to pass on their costs to whomever is next in line, being other companies or the final consumer.

Inflation might not reach the 2 percent target that the BOJ has been targeting for a while, but even if it just gets t 1 percent or even 1.5 percent, that might be enough for some or many consumers to feel the side-effects of inflation.

If companies don't move forward with some kind of push to pass on their costs, they might not have any room to increase salaries for their employees that Prime Minister Kishida has been pushing to get the economy moving in the right direction.

Article:

"There is a possibility that companies will pass on costs (to consumers) more than previously expected," Nakamura said. "A proactive stance by companies on price-setting is an important factor for Japan to shift to a new growth path and achieve our price stability target."

Japanese companies are known to be reluctant to raise retail prices for fear of hurting consumer demand. But surging raw material costs, which have sent wholesale prices to their highest levels in four decades, have prompted an increasing number of firms to pass them on to consumers.

The core consumer price index excluding volatile fresh food items rose 0.5 percent from a year earlier in December.

Ideas:

Even though companies have been reluctant to pass on their costs, for fear of hurting consumer demand, they might not have a choice, as supply costs and energy costs are now at the four decade high.

They might not have a choice if their as supply and energy costs cut into their profit margins and now have no room for salary increases, maybe no room for future investments, and or any other activity they might think as being important.

So if they don't company employees now have to wait another year without a salary increase, which means as their home costs increase they have less and less disposable income too to do what they want or need just like companies do.

So its a re-occuring situation in the Japanese economy where consumers are squezzed by increases in super-market prices, gasoline prices, home energy prices and then too without any increase in their salaries.

And companies too feeling the pinch of supply costs and energy costs increasing and have no extra room to increase salaries and other activities.

Article:

"We will continue with our powerful monetary easing to attain the (inflation) target," Nakamura said.

The rapid spread of the Omicron strain of the coronavirus is raising uncertainty over the economy and putting downward pressure on private consumption in Japan. Nakamura said he is paying attention to the spread of Omicron in China, the world's second-largest economy, which could lead to protracted global supply constraints and inflationary pressures.

Ideas:

The Bank of Japan might have no choice but the continue with its moneary easing at the present time. 

First it was the Abe administration and the Bank of Japan using the easing monetary strategy to get the economy moving, and then of course it was and still is the panedemic situation with many businesses still not where they should be, and now its the continour surge in energy and supply prices that the Bank of Japan needs to manage. 

Private consumer or consumer spending has always been a major challenge for the Bank of Japan and now with the pandemic and the increase in costs in many areas of the Japanese economy and society, its too soon for the Bank of Japan to back on its easing policy.

While other central banks might be doing the opposite, its not a good idea for the Bank of Japan to follow what the EU or the Federal Reserve is doing, or will do and each country has its own unique economic situations and circumstances.

And yes, the situation in China could easily spill over into Japan, South Korea, and other countries here in the near future.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan's Wholesale Prices:

 Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220210/p2g/00m/0bu/035000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Wholesale prices in Japan gained 8.6 percent in January from a year earlier as higher energy and raw material costs continued to add upward pressure, Bank of Japan data showed Thursday.

The pace of year-on-year increase slowed slightly from a revised 8.7 percent in December, the second-highest gain on record. Wholesale prices rose for the 11th straight month, also due in part to the weakening of the Japanese yen that has inflated import costs for energy-scarce Japan.

Import prices soared 37.5 percent, compared with a 12.5 percent gain in export prices, both in yen terms, the BOJ data showed.

Ideas:

Wholesale and import prices are most likely going to continue to increase as long as the pandemic continues and global supply and energy prices continue to increase.

There doesn't seem to be an end or exit ramp at this time as world events continue to cause challenges to many economies.

The Japanese yen and its falling is good for exporters but not good for importers. But maybe if it falls too much, those who buy Japanse products globally might begin to think the price they pay for Japanese products is getting too high.

So maybe there is limit on just how weak the Japanese can get before global consumers/customers begin to think that Japanese products are now too expensive.

And of course its even worse for Japanese importers as the weak yen drives up prices they have to pay for whatever they brining into Japan.

Article:

Economists and BOJ policymakers are keeping tabs on how the recent uptrend in wholesale prices will affect consumer prices as core consumer inflation has also been rising in recent months, though the Japanese central bank's 2 percent inflation target is still far off.

A growing number of Japanese firms have been passing on higher raw material costs, which would eat into their profitability, to consumers by raising retail prices. But higher consumer prices risk hurting demand at a time when the country's economic recovery from the COVID-19 fallout remains fragile, economists say.

Prices of petroleum and coal products rose 34.3 percent from a year earlier, reflecting higher crude oil prices.

Among raw materials, the price of lumber and wood products surged 58.5 percent, slowing from 60.6 percent in December but staying at a high level. Iron and steel prices were up 25.1 percent and nonferrous metal gained 26.5 percent.

Ideas:

There are two ways to look at the situation. One way is to think that maybe prices have been too low for too long in Japan and that an increase in prices might be a good thing for the Japanese economy and consumers need to get used to the overall increase in prices.

An overall increase in prices might actually help businesses in the long run and then as consumers/customers get used the higher prices they begin to understand that the higher prices are just part of the economy.

And then maybe the sales at businesses will increase and their profit margins might increase and then they can acually begin to increase the salaries of their employees as needed.

But the other way of looking at it, as the supply costs of some businesses continue to increase they have no choice but to pass their increase in supply costs to the next in the chain, whether its other companies or whether its the final customer/consumer.

So in the second scenario both the consumer and the business face challening situations as consumers don't buy and businesses lose sales as their profit margins decrease which means less economic growth in the Japanese economy.

Of course there are always going to some positives and some negatives in an economy. As prices continue to increase consumers will begin to look for subsitutes or alternatives to buying or what they do which means some businesses might actually gain.

But the economy keeps moving foward with as in a market economy there are always changes taking place, with some companies doing better than other companies.

But maybe now is the time for the price-sensitive Japanese consumer, for the most part, or with other things equal, to recognize that prices in Japan can't stay in the de-flation zone and need to get to the point where they are at a natural level so that the economy can see some kind of equilbrium meaning prices and profts are normal and not too low for what they should be.

But that is saying a lot and most likely the Japanese government will step-in with some more economic measures to help those groups that have no control over the higher prices in the economy.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Business Sentiment:

 Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220208/p2g/00m/0bu/071000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Business sentiment among workers with jobs sensitive to economic trends in Japan marked the steepest fall in more than a decade in January as a resurgence of coronavirus infections fueled worries, government data showed Tuesday.

The diffusion index of confidence in current conditions compared with three months earlier among "economy watchers," such as taxi drivers and restaurant staff, fell for the first time in five months, down 19.6 points from December to 37.9, according to the data released by the Cabinet Office.

It is the sharpest fall since March 2011, when Japan's northeastern region was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake and tsunami.

Ideas:

Workers whose jobs are always sensitive to economic situations, trends, are always going to be on the edge, as most likely most of the jobs are service type jobs that depend on contact with people.

Its been two years, and now entering its third year, that service type workers continuing to feel the effects of the pandemic situation.

One month or one quarter they might begin to feel better and then a new variant arrives which puts them under the same stress again.

And with the coming of spring, there is/was always a sense of optimism that more and more people are going to be out and abouit which benefits the service type businesses.

So maybe its not a surpise that the economy watchers or service workers don't have a sense of optimism as they keep going through the same thing each quarter.

Article:

A reading above 50 indicates that more respondents feel conditions are improving rather than worsening. The office polled 2,050 workers from Jan. 25 to 31, of whom 1,839, or 89.7 percent, responded.

The Cabinet Office downgraded its assessment of the economy from the previous month, saying it has shown "some weakness in its recovery." In December, when the business sentiment hit its highest level in 16 years, it said the economy "is picking up, though concerns remain over the coronavirus pandemic."

In January, the index fell in all of Japan's regions, as much of the country was placed under a quasi-state of emergency following a string of record daily COVID-19 numbers driven by the rapid spread of the Omicron variant coronavirus.

Ideas:

The economy may continue to recover but an economy, any econonmy, is very complex, and as such there are going to be sectors or industries that recover faster than other sectors or industries.

And as global shlipping challenges continue along with chip shortages and energy costs continue to increase there are going to remain many challenges in the Japanese economy and the global economy overall.

As this commentary or writing is a little behind schedule, there are some serious challanges aheaf for the Japanese economy and the global ecnomy.

But at the same time, despite all of the present challenges, the Japanese economy continues to move forward but always with the idea that is just doesn't seem to be where it should be, despite the pandemic situatioin and the other challenges.

For example, consumers spending never seems to be where it should be. Maybe that might be because Japanese society, or Japanese consumers, for the most part, just don't spend like the US consumers, which before the pandemic were like spending crazy consumers.

Article:

"The tourism industry was starting to revive, but it is being hit again amid the spread of Omicron. Cancellations have also begun to take place," a travel agency employee in the Kanto region is quoted as saying.

Under the emergency, restaurants and bars have been requested to shorten their business hours, with authorities asking people to minimize nonessential outings.

Looking ahead, the diffusion index gauging business sentiment in the coming months fell 7.8 points for the third straight month of decline to 42.5, according to the data.

Ideas:

The travel industry, as a service industry is going to take the longest to recover among all of the service type businesses and of course the hotel side of the services sector.

But we need to differentiate some, as the domestic tourism industry most likekly is going to recover more quicker and with spring coming on and the anticipation of the hanmi viewing period and the golden week period, domestic tourism will most likely get back to some kind of new normal in the future.

And if the Japanease government starts the "Go To Travel" program again soon, that might help the domestic tourism industry even more.

But there were many hotels and other places that focused on the international tourism customers and unfortunately that doesn't look to be coming back any times soon.

And yes, the Japanease government has increased the number of people who can enter the country from 3,000 to 5,000 and now even 10,000 for example business people to come to Japan to do business for a few days or even a week, but that is not going to help the international tourism industry just yet.

Its a step in the right direction, but for the Japanese economy to get back to the pre-pandemic level, international tourism needs to be fully open.

But the main challenge with that is China and when its going to let Chinese tourists out of the country and travel to Japan again, and the bulk of international tourists to Japan were Chinese tourists before the pandemic.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan Household Spending: Updated March 12

 Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220208/p2g/00m/0bu/023000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's average monthly household spending in 2021 rose a real 0.7 percent from the previous year, marking the first increase in two years, as more people went out amid a decline in novel coronavirus cases, the government said Tuesday.

Average spending by households of two or more people stood at 279,024 yen ($2,420), according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

Daily new COVID-19 cases in the country fell significantly after the summer and a coronavirus state of emergency was completely lifted in October.

"When the coronavirus situation subsided somewhat, more people went out, resulting in increased use of transportation such as trains," a ministry official said.

By category, spending on transportation and communications rose a real 4.7 percent from the previous year, while outlays on education climbed 15.7 percent, according to the data.

On the other hand, spending on food fell 1.0 percent from a year earlier due to restrictions on eateries amid the pandemic.

In December alone, average household spending stood at 317,206 yen, down a real 0.2 percent from a year earlier and declining for the fifth consecutive month.

Household spending is a key indicator of private consumption, which accounts for more than half of Japan's gross domestic product.

Ideas:

Household or consumer spending is always a major challenge for the Bank of Japan, for many reasons.

Japanease consumers aren't, for the most part, big spenders like those in the US. Consumer spending in the US economy makes up about 60-70 percent of GDP, while in Japan its only about 50 percent of GDP.

Another obvioius reason is Japan is now considered an ageing society, and again for the most part, those in their upper years tend to spend less than those in younger years.

But a recent report has suggested that those in the 20 to 65 age groups in Japan spend as much or more as their peers in other OECD countries.

But as Japan is ageing rapidly it might be consumer spending is always going to be a challenge for the Bank of Japan and its ability to reach the 2 percent goal related to inflation or more correctly consumer inflation and not producer inflation.

And as more people were out and about it related to spending in many different areas such as transportation, restaurants, retail shops and so on. So there was a synergy effect that has once place saw improvement,other related places also saw improvements.

But then again there has been the continued increase in prices in both supermarket food, gasoine prices, and home energy prices which might have put a dent on consumer spending as houesholds/consumer has less disposable income to use on extras or even some basic such food as supermarkets.

Which means some might have decided to find subsitutes for what they usually buy as maybe the prices were beginning to get too high for the especially the fixed income goups.

Now as the omicrno situation has hit and some provinces, including Tokyo are back into some kind of emergency measures, consumer spending again might drop again, or slow down some.

However, some consumers might feel the omicron situation is not that big deal and just think of it as just like the flu, and just go about their business, but still wearing masks to remain safe.

Have a nice day and be safe

Japan's Consumer Confidence:

 Source Article: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220131/p2g/00m/0bu/046000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's consumer confidence worsened in January for the second straight month amid a resurgence of coronavirus infections and higher consumer prices, the government said Monday, downgrading its assessment for the first time in eight months.

The seasonally adjusted index of sentiment among households made up of two or more people fell 2.4 points to 36.7, the Cabinet Office said. The index indicates consumers' economic expectations for the coming six months, with a reading below 50 suggesting the pessimists outnumber the optimists.

Ideas:

While indexes are meant to get the feel of what is happening or what has happened, it must be remembered its just a guage meaning they can't really see into people minds or hearts.

And yes, most likely consumer sentiment or feeling might have worsened it doesn't mean all feel the same way. And at the same time, just because consumers might not feel good about the economy with the virus situation or because of the increase in prices its doesn't mean they are going to stop buying what they want or need.

Yes, there will be some, but that doesn't mean the entire population is going to stop buying what they want or need, even though they might not feel good about what is going on.

So businesses need to make sure they don't read all of the indexes about how consumers are feeling bad and just provide the best products and services they can and just keep moving on.

Article:

The Cabinet Office downgraded its basic assessment of the index, saying the consumer confidence has been "stalling." In December, when the index fell 0.1 point, the office said sentiment "continued to pick up."

During the Jan. 7-20 survey period, daily coronavirus cases in Japan shot up to record highs, surpassing 45,000 cases.

As the highly transmissible Omicron variant spread, the government decided to put Tokyo and other prefectures under a coronavirus quasi-state of emergency, which allows the governors to ask local restaurants and bars to close early and stop or limit the serving of alcohol.

Ideas:

While it might be important to have some kind of continued emergency measures, it seems its the small restaurants, bars, and other places that always seem to be effected most by the emergency measures.

But of course consumers at the same time might be limiting their shopping at departments and other places as the omicron situation worsens.

And then there might be some consumers and others in society who are tired of the virus situation and might try to ignore the situation and go about their daily activities like is normal, with of course means wearing their masks.

And as more people get the booster shot they might think they are OK and are not going to worry too much about it.

But I've talked to two people in Tokyo recently were either had the two vaccinations and even the booster shot, and they still got the omicron virus. But fortunately for them, they both had mild cases and recovered within a week.

Article:

In addition to increasing COVID-19 cases, "price hikes of daily necessities since last year dampened sentiment," a government official said.

Among the survey's four components, consumers' assessment of livelihoods fell 1.8 points to 36.8 following a 0.5 point rise in December, while their readiness to buy new durable goods sagged 2.2 points to 34.3 after remaining unchanged at 36.5 in the previous month.

The survey showed a total of 89.7 percent of households expected consumer prices to rise in the year ahead, with 31.3 percent predicting it to accelerate by 5 percent and higher. The total figure, which matched that logged in March 2014, was the highest since comparable data became available in April 2013.

The consumer confidence survey covered 8,400 households, including 2,688 single-member households, with valid responses received from 6,732, or 80.1 percent.

Ideas:

When there is a price hike in some products or services, consumers might think what they want to do or can do such as finding substitutes or other products of the same quality at a lower price. 

Most likely households purchased household durable goods in 2020 when there was a big increase to work from home or families stayed at home more instead of going out and so in 2021 and in 2022, maybe consumers/households don't see the need to buy durable goods again at this time.

But with some daily necessities it might not be possible to find subsitutes so consumers might still have to buy them, which then cuts into their extra or disposable income after their weekly or montly household bills are paid.

There is also the problem with those on fixed incomes and the increase in the price of daily necessities. Their fixed income is now challenged even more and the government perhaps should find ways to help them, in any way possible if prices begin to get too high.

In this case the need for increases in salaries of workers this April is even more important if prices do increase by 5 percent or more this year. Otherwise the livelihoods of citizens are going to decrease even more in the coming year.

An increase in prices without a egual increase in overall consumer demand in the Japanese economy is not going to help the Bank of Japan reach its 2 percent target. 

Yes some kind of inflation is increasing but most likely its not the kind that the BOJ wants or needs in the Japanese economy. 

What the Japanese economy needs is sustained consumer demand and not sustainded prices increases, unless the prices increases are the result of consistent sustained demand. 

But most likely that is not going to happen unless consumers/households can get some kind of substantial increase in wages.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Bank of Japan:

 Article Source: https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220203/p2g/00m/0bu/051000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- It is "too early" for the Bank of Japan to tighten monetary policy as the economy's recovery from the coronavirus pandemic has just begun, Deputy Governor Masazumi Wakatabe said Thursday.

Wakatabe's statement came as some financial market players have suggested that the BOJ should move toward tightening monetary policy before achieving its 2 percent inflation target to keep in step with U.S. and European central banks, which are shifting toward normalization to tamp down prices.

Ideas:

Yes its way to early for the Bank of Japan to tighten monetary plolicy, even with the inflation increasing in Japan. 

If anything the Bank of Japan should make sure its strategies are enough to overcome any situations that might occur because of the Ukraine situation.

The Bank of Japan must think about Japan and its unique situation and not follow what the EU or the US are doing.

Japan is a long way from reaching 2 percent inflation even at the latest estimate of 1.1 percent.

But at the same time, the BOJ needs to be concerned about rising energy prices, rising food and supermarket prices and find strategies to cool those sectors down without tightening monetary policy.

Article:

"Given the current situation in which Japan's economy has finally started to pick up from the pandemic, it is definitely too early for the bank to start tightening monetary policy when the target has not yet been achieved as this could hinder the economic recovery," he said in a speech.

During an online meeting with business leaders in Wakayama Prefecture, he also said reaching the target means that the year-on-year growth rate of the consumer price index should be at 2 percent or more for a certain period, not "merely for one month or a few months."

Ideas:

The most important idea, as much as possible, if for the full recover of all sectors in the Japanese economy and society.

But that might not be possible for the international tourism sector just yet, but the BOJ and the Japanese government should do all it can to ensure as many sectors, including the battered services sectors can get to some kind of new normal.

Yes it should be a sustained recovery and not just the idea of 2 percent. but a sustained recovery for as many sectors as possible.

The BOJ's 2 percent goal might be doable as this time or in the near future. But if the BOJ can get the rest of the economy back to some kind of sustained growth that would be a start, and then if companies increase the salaries of their employees that will go a long way to maybe reaching the 2 percent target.

Article:

Japan is still struggling to achieve the target, but some economists predict the core CPI could increase toward 2 percent in the coming months as the impact fades of cuts in mobile phone fees that started last spring and raw material costs remain high globally.

As for one of the major reasons behind the BOJ setting the inflation target at 2 percent, Wakatabe said, "If inflation is zero percent, temporary factors can easily lead to deflation."

He said the BOJ is continuing with monetary easing not just for the sake of trying to raise prices but to create a "virtuous cycle" to increase "wages, income, and employment, thereby boosting business activity."

Ideas:

The BOJ has been struggling since around 2014 to reach the 2 percent target without much success yet.

And then when the 2019 sales tax increase came into effect on Oct. 1 it became even more difficult as Japanese consumers are very sensitive to price increases and a sales tax increase is nothing more than an increase in prices.

And then the pademic hit which has made it even more of a challenge for the BOJ to reach its goal. 

So maybe now as the pandemic might be slowing down and there is maybe some light at the end of the long 2 year tunnel the BOJ might be able to finally see consumer demand and inflation begin to get near the 2 percent level. It exactly there but even 1.5 or 1.75 would be significant.

So with Prime Ministers's ideas and the BOJ's ideas maybe Japan can begin to see some significant changes that are positive for the Japanese economy in the future.

Have a nice day and be safe!

Japan's Job Availability:

Article Source:  https://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20220201/p2g/00m/0bu/036000c

Article:

TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's job availability ratio fell for the third straight year in 2021 as companies continued to feel the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and offered fewer job openings, government data showed Tuesday.

The ratio stood at 1.13, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said. While that still meant 113 openings for every 100 job seekers, it was down 0.05 point from the previous year, following a 0.42 point plunge in 2020.

The number of job seekers grew 6.6 percent last year to 1.9 million, including full-time homemakers trying to make up for falling family incomes due to the economic fallout from the pandemic. Job offers, meanwhile, only increased 1.6 percent to 2.2 million.

Ideas:

The number of jobs available in Japan is still a lot at 113 jobs for every 100 job seekers. The real question is what kind of jobs are really available. Are they jobs with good salaries and benefits or are they temporary or contract jobs that might not provide the benefits job seekers are looking for.

Its significant that homemakers are trying to enter the workforce because of falling family incomes. So what is the reason for falling family incomes. Is it because of inflation related to an increase in food and supermarket prices. Is it becasue of home energy prices have increased. Is it because of gasoline prices have been increasing. Or is it because of layoffs in some industries that are effecting famalies.

So 1.9 million job seekers in Japan. What is the reason for so many job seekers. Again is it because of layoffs related to the pandemic. Is it because some or many people have planned to change jobs all along and have just been waiting for the right time to change jobs. 

Job offers might be a 2.2 million but again what kinds of jobs are being offered at this time. Are good paying jobs with good benefits. And are they the kinds of jobs people want or need. The days of companies offering just any jobs is gone in the 21st century as the younger generations are not willing to work like the grandparents or even their parents.

So companies need to be aware of what the younger generations are looking for in jobs. Such as the idea they might not want to work from 9 to 9 everynight like the older generations did. They might not want to go out to drinking parties or dinners like the older generations did. And they might not want to wait until they are 40 or older to get promotions in the company. So companies need to be aware of what the younger generations want and need to get the best talent out there.

And then there is now the idea that maybe some workers don't want or aren't willing to sit at a desk from 9 to 6 everyday and want to work from home too.

Article:

The labor market was swayed by the pandemic in 2021 as surging infections prompted the government to repeatedly put Tokyo and other areas under states of emergency that requested residents to refrain from non-essential outings and eateries to close earlier.

The country's jobless rate in 2021 stood at 2.8 percent, unchanged from the previous year but worse than the 2.4 percent rate in the pre-pandemic year of 2019, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications.

The average number of unemployed people climbed 20,000 from a year earlier to 1.9 million, increasing for the second straight year.

Ideas:

The Japan labor market most likely was not hit as hard as maybe other economies were because of the labor law situations that make it hard to layoff workers. For example one strategy that companies have used is to transfer workers from one area of the company to another area of a company.

Another strategy that companies use is to lend out workers to other companies that need workers in some areas. This seems to have been a common practice among Japanese companies. Of course a question might be is just how qualified are some workers to move to another company for a short time.

The jobless rate in any country is never going to be 0 percent as there is always going to be some kind of unemployment in every society. Sometimes its related to a job structural problem, meaning the job skills of some workers don't fit the jobs available. Sometimes its related ot some changing jobs and it takes time to find an new job. And unfortunately it relates to some who just don't want to work and have given up finding a job. 

But most labor measurements don't include those who have lost hope and given up in the unemployment statistics. Only those who are presistent in trying to find a job are included.

So the the jobless rate in Japan could be much higher if everyone was include.

Article:

Nonregular workers, many of whom were employed in the restaurant industry, a sector hit hard by the pandemic, fell 260,000 to 20.6 million, down for the second consecutive year.

Workers in the accommodation and restaurant sector totaled 3.7 million, the smallest number since comparable data became available in 2002.

"With on-and-off restrictions, the eating out sector was unable to fully recover its workforce," said Naoko Ogata, a senior economist at the Japan Research Institute.

Ideas:

Nonregular workers, unfortunately, are becoming more common in Japan as companies turn more western and try to reduce costs and give little or no benefits to nonregular workers.

Its an unfortunate situation that suggest that up to 30 percent of the Japanese workforce is made up of nonregular workers.

Its a very unfortunate situation that the services sector, where most of the nonregular workers work in, are the ones who feel the pandemic situation the most. 

They should be the ones that should be given the most support from the Japanese government along with companies and businesses they work for to keep in with the companies, as much as possible. 

They most likely don't have the same kind of salaries as the big company employees have a don't have the same benefits and most likely are living paycheck to paycheck or were before the were laidoff because of the pandemic

Hopefully as the pandemic begins to slow down the hotels, restaurants, and other places will bring back their nonregular workers if they want to return to their former jobs.

Article:

In December alone, the job-to-applicant ratio improved to 1.16 from the previous month's 1.15. The unemployment rate fell to 2.7 percent from 2.8 percent in November after the latest state of emergency was fully lifted in October.

The lodging and eatery sector showed some recovery.

Although the number of workers in the sector dropped 30,000 from a year before, the pace of decline slowed from 190,000 and 440,000 drops in November and October, respectively.

Ideas:

Any kind of improvement in service sector jobs is good but it might take most of the spring or even into the summer to see significant improvements in the services sector.

Restaurants might come back faster than the hotel industry as people get out and about more and more. 

But the hotel industry might take a longer time to recover as the Go to Travel program has not restarted yet. And then there is the idea of international tourism which hotel took a big hit on as the thousands of Chinese which the hotel sector became heavily reliant on are not going to come back quickly. 

International tourists of course are ready and willing to travel but countries have to be willing to open their borders. Many in the EU, before the Ukraine crisis were beginning to open up.

But Japan hasn't opened up to international tourism just yet, and China for example might not be allowing is citizens to travel just yet, except for maybe to the US and EU for business travel.

Article:

The outlook remains uncertain, however, as the country has been facing a resurgence of coronavirus cases, with most areas of the country again under a quasi-state of emergency mainly to prevent the spread of the virus at eateries.

With the fresh restrictions in place, "more people are expected to refrain from going out and the recovery (of the labor market) will slow," Ogata said.

Ideas:

The virus situation will probably on and off again for some time which means the Japanese economy is not going to get back to any kind of pre-pandemic level just yet.

While the omicron virus might not be as severe for some people, unfortunately for others they aren't so luckly with severe cases and even deaths in some cases.

So maybe its a little too early to call the omicron situation just another flu virus just yet.

And most likely the present omicron situation is going to force some companies to refrain from hiring like the would for the start of the fiscal year in April 2022.

But over time, if the omicron situation does begin to receded we could see a surge in hiring and a surge in more people out and about, as people might feel they have had enough and want to just get back to some kind of normal especially as the spring months are approaching.

Especially as more and more people in Japan get the booster shots and feel good about going out.

Have a nice day and be safe!