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Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

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21–30 of 143 posts

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#21

> At the same time, baby boomers are approaching retirement It wouldn't have occurred to me that Japan had a baby boom. I suppose soldiers returning home in despair or in triumph are all looking for comfort and stability.

The last century of Japanese history looks a lot like that of the Western developed nations. (Probably because Japan made itself into a Western-style empire, then got involved in WW2 big time with the Western powers, then got a Western-style American occupation, so…)

There's a statistic that the US population is growing because of children of immigrants.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#22
post #17
post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow. Choosing your wife for you? Who and where was this company?! My experience with a traditionally Japanese run megacorp/zaibatsu in the heart of Tokyo is much more like a traditional western company. The minutia of HR is very Japanese and hard to get your head around, but the broad strokes of salary/bonus/non monetary benefits (I had to look up what pecuniary means) is basically the same.

I don’t think “choosing” is the right word, it’s more like providing the opportunity to meet someone with drinking events, goukon etc. At least if his company is like the ones I’ve seen.

The thread is definitely making a mountain out of a mole hill. Its providing networking opportunities, not selecting an actual person to be married off.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I'd always assumed that the Baby Boom was the result of a victorious end to war, but the other makes sense too. Was there a baby boom after WWI, or the American Civil War, or other wars that siphoned off a major part of a country's young men?

Quick googling leads to this StackExchange question regarding WWI. Apparently it didn't see a boom (at least, not in the US?): https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/1026/did-ww1-pro...

It was a lot easier to move around the country and commute ranges were greater after WWII due to the enhanced infrastructure and greater number of personal automobiles. This and the improved economy after the war had some big effects on society.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#24
post #20
post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I doubt he would phrase it the same way I did, but I am absolutely not materially misremembering the conversation in which he said, and this is a verbatim quote translated from Japanese, "[24 year old coworker], this is Patrick. He just joined, graduated from a good school in America, and has a bright future with the company. Have you ever considered an international marriage?"

Oh I'm not doubting you. But that's slightly different. Putting in a good word for you and making introductions to eligible young co-workers isn't quite the same as "here's your bride!", which is what it sounded like. I can absolutely imagine a 50s-ish japanese boss saying exactly the contents of your quote.

"sourcing" in this context means "identifying and referring candidates" not making an official commitment.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#25
post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don’t think “choosing” is the right word, it’s more like providing the opportunity to meet someone with drinking events, goukon etc. At least if his company is like the ones I’ve seen.

The thread is definitely making a mountain out of a mole hill. Its providing networking opportunities, not selecting an actual person to be married off.

And it's an invitation to a sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuit in a USA corporation.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The thread is definitely making a mountain out of a mole hill. Its providing networking opportunities, not selecting an actual person to be married off.

And it's an invitation to a sexual harassment or discrimination lawsuit in a USA corporation.

The anecdote in question occurs in Japan.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> my boss assumed that it would be sourcing the bride. Yikes.

The image you have is probably close to how in some societies 2 families decide their children are betrothed to each other. The reality is closer to match making: some colleagues might introduce you to somebody who could be a match. Or maybe they will invite you to what is called a goukon, a group date where one of the male participants invite a few colleagues or friends of his who are single while his girlfriend inv…

Though to be fair, arranged marriages are pretty common in Japan. Several of my friends have arranged marriages and are as happy as any other couple I know. I suppose you can think of it like online dating, where there is also an expectation that both parties are looking to get married. It would not surprise me at all that a company would pay the fees for a match maker if being single was causing a valued employee emotional distress. Especially foreign workers don't have family to take care of this kind of thing (sometimes parents will intervene and contact a match maker if they feel that their child is taking too long to get married).

I've never been a full time worker in Japan, except in my own consulting company (obviously -- otherwise I would still be there ;-) ). But with a 1 year renewable contract (the normal way to work if you are not a full time employee), I was surprised at the extent to which the company takes care of you. It's nice if you are like me where you want to concentrate on work, but I've known people who get frustrated by what they see as an intrusion on their personal affairs.

When I was working at the high school where I taught English, several times I had conversations with the vice principal who felt that me being single past the age of 40 was a problem. He even sent me to talk to the nurse so that she could explain how Japanese relationships work and impress upon me the importance of taking things seriously.

And... well... I listened. And they were right. I got married to a Japanese woman who I was dating (not the nurse ;-) ). Not only has it made my life dramatically happier, but it's helped my job incredibly (even though I'm consulting IT related stuff instead of teaching English ;-) ). But it's kind of beyond weird have that kind of intervention at work...

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I guess I'd always assumed that the Baby Boom was the result of a victorious end to war, but the other makes sense too. Was there a baby boom after WWI, or the American Civil War, or other wars that siphoned off a major part of a country's young men?

Quick googling leads to this StackExchange question regarding WWI. Apparently it didn't see a boom (at least, not in the US?): https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/1026/did-ww1-pro...

It's funny that nobody mentions the Spanish Flu. Unusually, that took out a lot of child-bearing age individuals around the world. And the flu, in particular, ravaged pregnant women.

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Allied Powers had seemingly learned the lessons of Versailles and didn't try to punish the losers (well, not as much), instead letting them grow. Thus why them not being victorious didn't matter, I guess.

America did try to punish the Germans. Millions starved as a result of deliberate Allied policy. It wasn't until the schism with the USSR that policies shifted. Eisenhower in particular wanted Germany to be an agrarian society.

Wait, i'm confused. I've always been told America poured tons of money into Germany via the Marshall Plan [0], which resulted in the "Wirtschaftswunder"[+] of the 50s and 60s. Former president Hoover went over and surveyed Germany almost directly after the war, in 1947.

[0]:https://web.archive.org/web/20090419195002/http://www.un.org...

[+]: Literally "economic miracle"

Re: Japan’s labor market is tight, and higher wages may be needed to retain workers

#30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Allied Powers had seemingly learned the lessons of Versailles and didn't try to punish the losers (well, not as much), instead letting them grow. Thus why them not being victorious didn't matter, I guess.

America did try to punish the Germans. Millions starved as a result of deliberate Allied policy. It wasn't until the schism with the USSR that policies shifted. Eisenhower in particular wanted Germany to be an agrarian society.

> Eisenhower in particular wanted Germany to be an agrarian society.

The US wanted to apply the same policy to Japan as well.

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