Thursday, August 17, 2006

let the freeters eat cake.

Japan's got a problem, according to all the newspapers and TV shows I've seen. The problem? Not enough young people are taking on proper jobs with long term prospects. It seems after generations their ancestor's hard work, Japanese youth are giving up, and becoming lazy and unproductive. So sayeth the Japanese mass media.

I know what you're thinking: Oh dear! That must mean that companies are having a hard time finding quality employees. Maybe it's a good time for me to try to find a job in Japan.

But you'd be mistaken. Firstly, by thinking that you can enter the Japanese job market and compete for positions with Japanese people. That's not going to happen. Secondly, because the companies are not having a lick of trouble. As the economy continues to warm up, the companies having trouble finding quality employees are those offering low paying, unskilled temporary jobs. There are countless young people eager and qualified to enter into the proper careers... but not enough hiring, and hiring and work practices so inflexible as the rule out a huge portion of the qualified society.

The media is trying to make a big deal of the small number of people who have shitty jobs and don't especially mind. If anything, it's an initiative to keep competition high for decent jobs so as to keep the wages in check.

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