A labor shortage appears to be weighing increasingly heavily on the prospects of Japanese companies as the nation faces a long-term decline in the working-age population. While the jobless rate has sunk to the lowest in 22 years, the tightening manpower supply is a growing source of concern for many firms that isn't likely to go away under current demographic trends. Some sectors are already being forced to adapt their business models to the labor shortage, curtailing some of their services when they can't secure enough staff.

The government needs to step up its efforts to sustain the labor force in the rapidly falling and graying population, including measures to prop up the low birthrate and facilitate greater labor participation by women and senior citizens. The private sector, for its part, is urged to respond by beefing up investments in manpower-saving technologies, including those featuring artificial intelligence.

Yamato Transport Co., the leading door-to-door parcel delivery firm, has been forced into hiking its rates and curbing some services because the company can't secure enough drivers to keep up with the sharp increase in the volume of parcels due to the popularity of online shopping. Some retailers and restaurant chains — sectors where the labor crunch is also acute — have started to shorten their business hours in response to staff shortage.