Japanese industry is now gearing up for what's being called the 2007 Problem. In that year, the huge mass of humanity known as the baby-boom generation will start to retire, and when they leave their companies they will take with them many of the skills and knowhow that built those companies and, in turn, rebuilt Japan.
TV Tokyo's business documentary series "Dawn of Gaia" (Tuesday, 10 p.m.) addresses the 2007 Problem at the micro level by visiting a number of major manufacturers. The town of Kure in Hiroshima, for instance, was once considered home to the greatest shipbuilding industry in the world, though international competition has eroded that reputation somewhat. Nevertheless, the industry cannot even hope to survive if it doesn't replace boomer-age engineers with younger ones. One company reveals that they have tried for years to hire capable young engineers, but they tend to quit early on. Part of the problem may be the intense apprenticeship system that young engineers have to undergo. Consequently, those who do stay on are treated almost like kings.
Despite the abundance of Suzukis and Tanakas, it is believed that Japan has a greater variety of family names than any other country. Some scholars claim to have counted more than 100,000 different Japanese surnames.