Tag - jobs

 
 

JOBS

A chemical plant in Mie Prefecture. The number of business failures linked to soaring labor costs and labor shortages increased 1.6 times to 309, the highest since fiscal 2013.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 8, 2025
Japan bankruptcies in fiscal 2024 hit 11-year high
The result reflected a surge in the number of bankruptcies due to labor shortages, particularly among small and midsize companies, and rising prices.
High school student Soa Ono, 17, assists an elderly woman during a recreational activity at a nursing care facility in Nagoya in late February.
JAPAN / Society / Regional voices: Chubu
Apr 7, 2025
Caregiver apprenticeship for high school students expanding in Aichi
The program allows apprentices to earn an income while acquiring knowledge and skills through hands-on experience.
Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino speaks at a Democratic Party for the People convention in Sumida Ward, Tokyo, on Feb. 11.
BUSINESS / WOMEN AT WORK
Apr 6, 2025
Breaking with tradition: From the shop floor to fighting for millions
Tomoko Yoshino has rubbed shoulders with political heavyweights and business leaders as the first female leader of Rengo.
The seal of the United States Department of State is seen in Washington. U.S. President Donald Trump is looking to shrink the federal workforce and revamp the diplomatic corps to ensure a dedicated implementation of his "America First" policies.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 6, 2025
Trump administration appoints junior officer to oversee U.S. Foreign Service
The move comes as Trump shrinks the federal workforce and looks to revamp the U.S. diplomatic corps to ensure a dedicated implementation of his "America First" policies.
Teruki Hara (left) and Kazuyasu Takahashi in the city of Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, on Jan. 27
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2025
14 years on: Teen from Tokyo begins fishing career in Fukushima
Teruki Hara remains initially discovered his love for fishing in the prefecture as a child.
U.S. Health and Human Services employee Julie Siegel stands outside the Mary E. Switzer Memorial Building on Tuesday as she is denied access and her badge taken away as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration reportedly begins mass layoffs of 10,000 staffers at U.S. health agencies.
WORLD / Politics
Apr 2, 2025
Trump begins mass layoffs at FDA, CDC and other U.S. health agencies
The job cuts are part of a broad plan by the U.S. president and billionaire ally Elon Musk to shrink the federal government and slash spending.
U.S. President Donald Trump walks toward Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 31, 2025
U.S. orders French companies to comply with Trump's DEI ban
The order will spark concerns in European boardrooms that the Trump administration is widening its fight against DEI policies overseas.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba emphasizes the need to consider measures to help Japanese companies with financing while the government tries to grasp the entire scope of the impact on the nation’s key industry.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 28, 2025
Ishiba pledges measures to protect jobs from Trump’s car tariffs
Ishiba emphasized the need to consider measures to help Japanese companies with financing while the government tries to grasp the entire scope of the tariffs' impact.
Pedestrians in Omiya, Saitama Prefecture
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2025
More Japanese prefectures to introduce remote work allowance
Twelve of the 47 prefectures will introduce the allowance next month.
A survey of 12,817 companies by Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute found that only 51% committed to base wage hikes, the think tank announced on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Mar 27, 2025
Japan’s wage growth isn’t as rosy as Rengo’s data indicate
The broader picture for pay trends may not be as rosy as the union group expects, according to one think tank.
Max Lesser, a senior analyst on emerging threats at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, has uncovered a network of companies operated by a secretive Chinese tech firm that has been trying to recruit recently laid-off U.S. government workers.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Mar 26, 2025
Secretive Chinese network tries to lure fired federal workers in U.S.
Max Lesser, a researcher who uncovered the network, said the campaign follows "well-established" techniques used by previous Chinese intelligence operations.
Students attend a job fair at Makuhari Messe in the city of Chiba on March 1.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 26, 2025
About 30% of major Japanese companies using AI for recruiting, poll says
The results show that companies are looking to AI to increase the efficiency of recruitment efforts as competition for human resources heats up.
Increased reliance on AI and digital technology is weakening cognitive skills, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, as people depend more on machines for tasks that once required mental effort.
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 25, 2025
‘Use it or lose it’ — a grim mantra for the AI age
In sum, “excessive dependence on AI without concurrent cultivation of fundamental cognitive skills may lead to underutilization and subsequent loss of cognitive abilities.”
A Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry government building in Kasumigaseki, an area of Tokyo where the central government ministries are clustered
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2025
Japan should look at larger companies to set public servant pay: panel
Until 2005, the government looked at companies with at least 100 employees to decide their workers' salaries.
A Self-Defense Forces officer speaks during a news conference Friday at the Tokyo District Court over a power harassment lawsuit he filed against the state earlier in the day.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Mar 21, 2025
SDF officer sues the state over alleged power harassment
The officer is seeking more than ¥14 million in damages after being transferred to a post completely different from his field of expertise, which led to mental illness.
Natsue Kondo (left) assumes the post of the Maritime Self-Defense Force's vice admiral commanding the MSDF's Ominato District, based in Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, in December 2023.
JAPAN
Mar 21, 2025
Natsue Kondo: The female vice admiral who broke the glass ceiling at Japan's SDF
The MSDF vice admiral remains the only female SDF officer holding any of the top ranks.
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 21, 2025
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
The average wage increase is key for the central bank, which is counting on steady raises as it ends a decadeslong experiment in ultraloose monetary policy.
It has become the government's urgent priority to address the issue of an acute labor shortage in the Self-Defense Forces, as recruitment has consistently fallen short of targets.
JAPAN / FOCUS
Mar 21, 2025
Higher pay and career support planned to help boost Japan's SDF ranks
Recruitment for the Self-Defense Forces has consistently fallen short of targets, with only about 10,000 personnel hired in fiscal 2023 — half of the quota of about 20,000.
Lyft envisions a hybrid future where human drivers will complement autonomous vehicle fleets, especially during periods of peak demand.
BUSINESS / Tech
Mar 21, 2025
Lyft to offer driverless ride-hails ‘as soon as this summer’
The company sees its human drivers transitioning to other work such as fleet management as autonomous rides become more ubiquitous.
Women's March Tokyo, a demonstration march against sexual violence and discrimination against women, is held on International Women's Day in Tokyo's Shibuya Ward on March 8.
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2025
Women remain underrepresented in Japan's news industry
Correcting the gender gap is an urgent issue in the industry, with such a change expected to bring women's perspectives to newsrooms.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it