Labor & Employment
4 items
The Structure of the Care Worker Crisis — An 'Invisible Roadmap' to 2040
Japan will face a shortage of 570,000 care workers by 2040, according to projections by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare. With a job openings-to-applicants ratio of 3.9 and turnover and hiring rates nearly equal, what appears to be a quantitative problem intersects with systemic failures in institutional design. This column examines the crisis through a three-layer structural analysis.
14-Day Consecutive Work Cap and Rest Interval Between Shifts — A Turning Point in Japan's Labor Reform Debate
With only 5.7% of firms adopting a rest-interval policy, Japan's first major Labour Standards Act overhaul in four decades confronts deep structural barriers to implementation.
Employment 'Quantity' Has Recovered — But What About 'Quality'? Structural Challenges in Japan's Labor Market as Revealed by Data
An unemployment rate of 2.5% and a job openings-to-applicants ratio of 1.19. Macro statistics indicate employment recovery, yet real wages stagnate, 37.2% of workers hold non-regular positions, and occupational mismatch remains deeply entrenched. A data-driven examination of the 'quality' deficit in Japan's employment landscape.
The Structure of Unemployment — Reading Today's Employment Through Age Groups and Job Openings Ratios
Japan's overall unemployment rate appears stable in the mid-2 percent range, yet the rate for workers aged 15–24 runs roughly twice as high. By examining the relationship between unemployment and job openings-to-applicants ratios, we uncover the structural realities of today's labor market.