An interesting article about the increasing number of foreigners living and prospering in Japan.
When I used to live there in the early naughties, foreigners were still very much a novelty, and there was a definite difference in the way that Japanese treated Asian foreigners as opposed to Caucasians like myself. It’s intriguing to see how things are changing. – Bruce
It looks like the aging and shrinking population of Japan is getting more attention with the G20 signalling the trend as a global threat.
-Bruce
Ballooning healthcare costs, labor shortages and financial services for the elderly: for the first time Sunday, the world’s top policymakers are tackling economic issues relating to aging and shrinking birthrates. G20 finance ministers and central bank chiefs meeting in Japan — where a rapidly aging population is a major domestic…
It’s interesting to see the fairly ambitious new work visa policies for foreign national workers in Japan. In theory it sounds good, but it’ll be interesting to see if they can successfully encourage the employees into the regional areas where population decline is much more pronounced. – Bruce
Japan launched on Monday a new visa system to bring in more foreign workers to the country struggling with an acute labor shortage, marking a major policy shift from its traditionally strict immigration rules. With hundreds of thousands of foreigners estimated to take up blue-collar and other types of jobs,…
Source: Japan launches new visa system to bring in more foreign workers
It’s interesting to see how one of Japan’s biggest convenience store chains is approaching the issues of labour shortages. I’ve also recently noticed that Seven Eleven has had to change the operating hours for some rural stores….funnily enough, to 7am – 11pm, rather than the standard 24hour operations. – Bruce
An interesting Article from Forbes Magazine that explores some of the business opportunities that Japan’s unique demographic makeup is offering the business sector. – Bruce
A brief article about a survey that shows that over 80% of respondents don’t mind the idea of utilising robots to help support the care of seniors. – Bruce
Over 80 percent of people in Japan hold positive views about receiving nursing care from robots, according to a survey by nursing care service provider Ori
Source: Over 80% of Japanese positive about robotic nursing care | The Japan Times
This labour shortage is a direct link to Japan’s rapidly changing demographics. It’s little wonder that there is such a dramatic push for robotics and AI to help fill this labour gap! – Bruce
There were 161 jobs for every 100 jobseekers on average last year in Japan, the highest ratio since 1973, highlighting the labor shortage in the world’s third-largest economy and its aging society. According to labour ministry data released on Friday, the ratio was even higher in December, at 163 jobs…
Source: Japan’s labor shortage hits 45-year high – Japan Today
A great article about how drone technology is allowing Japanese farmers to do more work with less people, and importantly, less physical effort. If done well it will allow farmers to continue working for longer, and takes the burden off trying to find ‘eager’ young workers (most of whom seem to have left for the big cities) to tend the crops. It’s a perfect example of how technology can help Japan adapt to its status as a ‘Super-Aged-Society’ – Bruce
Over the past three years, drone sales have reached new heights. Chances are, you know someone who has bought one or received one as a gift. While they are great for aerial photography and fun to fly around haphazardly, their practical uses go far beyond. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were…
It seems to becoming more common to hear about accidents like this in Japanese media. What many westerners don’t know is that in 2018 Japan passed a law which states that if any driver over the age of 70 is caught committing a traffic offence of any nature (eg, speeding, miss a stop-sign etc..), the police must conduct a cognitive test on a tablet device. If the test is failed, the driver has 1 month to see a doctor to get tested for dementia. Fail that test, and the license is cancelled. Fail to have the test within a month and report back to the police, and the license is cancelled. Either way the stakes are very high for the driver….though the fear of accidents such as this are what has driven the law. Somewhat ironically, the social isolation caused by not having a driver’s license will more than likely speed up the onset of dementia. It’s just one of the many complicated situations arising out of Japan’s Super-Aged Society. – Bruce
Source: Car driven by 79-year-old man runs onto sidewalk near Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station; 5 injured
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