A ryokan operating in Kyoto, Japan, has recently been suffering from a shortage of manpower. This is..

Due to the rise of ‘popular travel destinations’, the number of tourists flocking to Japan
Restaurants and accommodation facilities, etc. The number of places closed to the regulation on ‘foot stamping’
‘overtime limit’ of business owners due to the overlapping inflation
Prime Minister Takaichi instructs to prepare deregulation policy
Companies and some workers welcome their intention to protect the lives and health of employees
…Labor and others are protesting

사진 확대 A street in Tokyo, Japan, crowded with foreign tourists [Photo source = Reuters Yonhap News]

A ryokan operating in Kyoto, Japan, has recently been suffering from a shortage of manpower. This is because foreign tourists are flocking to experience traditional Japanese culture and food, but there is an absolute lack of staff to respond to them. In the case of a 15-room hotel room, it is reported that it is already fully booked for several months. In fact, there are employees who want to work extra hours to get more pay, but the owner is just stomping because of the regulations restricting overtime.

“We have a lot of work to deal with from check-in response to bedding arrangements to preparing local traditional dishes, but it is virtually impossible to increase employees’ working hours,” the owner, who has been operating a ryokan in Kyoto for four generations, told Bloomberg. “There are several restrictions on overtime, so we have no choice but to allocate employees’ working hours accordingly.”

Japan, which has emerged as a “popular destination” among international tourists and is targeting tourism specials, has recently suffered from a serious manpower shortage. According to the Japanese Government Tourism Bureau (JNTO), the number of overseas tourists visiting Japan has steadily increased every year, reaching an all-time high of about 42.7 million last year. This year, about 41.40 million foreign tourists, similar to last year’s, are expected to visit Japan.

As the number of foreign tourists visiting Japan is increasing rapidly, the demand for restaurants and accommodation facilities is also increasing rapidly. As a result, business owners will have to increase the hours of existing employees to cater to the influx of international travelers, but they are now hampered by restrictions on “overtime work restrictions” by the Japanese government.

In the past, Japan was once stigmatized as a ‘country of overwork’ due to repeated overtime work every day. As related issues emerged as a social problem, the Japanese government came up with a law limiting monthly and annual working hours to curb excessive overtime and implemented it in earnest from 2019. As a result, the usual overtime hours for Japanese workers were limited to 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year.

However, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, who took power in October last year, has recently started working on a policy to reverse the shortage of manpower in Japan’s industry due to such regulations. Mr. Takaichi’s plan is to ease working-hour restrictions to revive the Japanese economy, while easing labor shortages caused by population declines and giving workers and businesses back autonomous options to “work.”

The deregulation is currently ongoing, and details have not yet been decided, but it is analyzed that Prime Minister Takaichi’s happiness touched a sensitive part of Japanese society that has been suffering from “over-the-work.” The bereaved families and labor circles of workers who have died from overwork have expressed concern that Takaichi’s push to ease regulations on working hours could bring back the hard-won improvement of working conditions. In particular, as Prime Minister Takaichi expressed his willingness to “work, work, and work” in his inaugural speech, some point out that he may regard the concept and importance of work-life balance (work-life balance).

사진 확대 Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae [Photo source = Yonhap News]

The movement to reduce working hours was not just in Japan. The U.S. and Europe transitioned to a work environment that emphasized flexibility after a transition period following the COVID-19 pandemic, and some countries are attempting to introduce a four-day week system. In the case of China, it is divided to the extreme. In the case of the information technology (IT) industry, the “996 work system,” which works six days a week from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., is in effect, but on the other side, there is an increasing number of “Tang Ping (not doing anything),” which means the younger generation’s attitude to endure with minimal work.

Japanese society is paying attention to whether the current situation it faces will go in a way that puts more emphasis on workers’ work-life balance or a return to the high-intensity labor culture that has supported high growth in the past. Most Japanese companies are said to express their expectations that Prime Minister Takaichi’s review of the regulations will serve as an opportunity to ease the increasingly severe manpower shortage.

Japanese companies are experiencing the most serious shortage of manpower in 34 years, according to a recent short-term economic survey (Dancan) released by the Bank of Japan (BOJ). On top of that, as inflation increases wages and material costs, it is burdensome for companies to hire additional new employees. According to a survey conducted by market research firm Tokyo Shoko, 397 Japanese companies filed for bankruptcy last year, the highest ever.

The easing of working hours regulations has been welcomed by some workers beyond businesses. Japanese workers, on average, rely on overtime pay for about 6% of their annual income, according to calculations based on data from Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Under these circumstances, restrictions on overtime have resulted in a reduction in workers’ salaries. More than 60 percent of respondents in a recent Japanese media poll supported Takaichi’s plan, which is why his approval rating has risen to 80 percent, especially among those aged 18-29.

On the contrary, the bereaved families of victims of overwork and the labor community are protesting against this. Critics point out that Takaichi’s emphasis on “work flexibility” is just a euphemism for wrapping up “labor exploitation” and that if it is passed on to the industry as a matter of choice, it could be a means for employers to pressure workers to work additionally. They gave evidence that work-related mental illness cases exceeded 1000 in fiscal 2024, of which about 60% were due to problems with owners or bosses.

“The attempt to increase workers’ working hours further is a regression of the efforts that Japanese society has made to improve work-life balance,” said Tomoko Yoshino, president of the Federation of Trade Unions (Rengo), Japan’s largest union. “We can never yield when it comes to protecting workers’ lives and health.”

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