Japan Faces Shrinking Working-Age Population
Posted on November 9, 2005
Japan faces an interesting problem. They are one of the few countries that has managed to start shrinking their population through low birth-rates. An article in the economist says Japan's population will shrink by over 25 million by 2050 and that their working-age population is already shrinking. Unfortunately, the article says Japan has one of the worst figures when it comes to working women.
Take Yazuya, a highly profitable mail-order firm selling health supplements in the city of Fukuoka. A visit to one of its offices surprises, and not just because of the plastic cartoon cats climbing up the outside wall. On the ground floor, a large space is given over to flower-arranging and dances at the weekend. A canteen upstairs serves wholesome food at low tables over tatami mats. The offices are bright, airy and dotted with flowers, in contrast to the usual workplace oppression. And the staff are overwhelmingly women, even at management level.The article also says getting the younger member of the population to work is not easy. The Economist describes some unusual practices in Japan where there is more focus on staying with one company -- unlike the U.S. where workers frequently change companies.Yazuya is an exception in Japan. Female participation in the labour force, at 55%, has risen in recent decades, but lags well behind Britain (61%) and America (62%), with many women, says Kathy Matsui, an analyst at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo, dropping out completely to raise children. Less than 10% of managers are women in Japan, compared with 46% in America.
A lot of hair-pulling has gone on over youngsters unwilling to commit themselves to a full-time career. Ms Yazu maintains that the solution is to give younger employees a participatory style of management and "a sense of ownership" in what they do. In the year between a university student's recruitment and her start at work, she is sent newsletters, her uniform (designed by staff and voted on at a company fashion show) and assorted company philosophies set down by Ms Yazu's late husband that the new recruit has to memorise. A letter to her parents is a solemn undertaking that the company will "nurture" its new charge. To a western ear, this all sounds a bit freaky, but it seems to work. Departures from the company are almost unheard of.We are familiar with company uniforms (in some industries) and corporate dress codes here in the U.S. but Japan clearly takes this concept to the extreme with company fashion shows.