[lbo-talk] Re: Structural change and falling wages in the Japanese workforce

[Greg L.]

MG wrote:
The erosion of regular full-time employment has
been instrumental in the revival of corporate
profitability, but, as the FT notes, some employers and
economists are worried the accompanying decline in mass
purchasing power will produce deflationary crises.
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Well, the economy has been deflating for the last 5-6
years, no? I actually witnessed the dynamic that the
article describes first-hand. I just quit a job with a
Mazda subsidiary about a month ago after three years- I
did translating and proofreading of manuals. The company
made no secret of the fact that it was aiming to reach 40%
"part time workers". Part-time meaning 7 hours a day, low
wages and very few of the frills afforded full-fledged
company employees. These were mostly young females with
only a high school or junior college degree. It's going to
be very interesting to see how these changes will play out
since so much of the society and culture is still bult
around lifelong employment and the seniority system.
Also adding to (or at least being a sign of) deflation has
been the rise of the "100 yen" (about 1 USD) shops. Tons
of cheap Chinese stuff so that consumers can still get
their "buy on".
Cheers,
Greg

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