Japan's labor market may be at an inflection point as the nation braces for a shortfall of millions of workers, the rise of generative AI and risks to economic security.
Major Japanese insurance company Sompo Holdings Inc. is attempting to change its traditional working culture by encouraging some employees to work for almost a year at start-ups and nonprofit organizations unrelated to their usual line of work.
Japan's central and local governments, alongside many businesses, marked the year's first day of work on Jan. 4 as the country refrained from implementing travel restrictions despite a rise in the number of COVID-19 cases.
Japan's government offices and many companies mark their final business day of 2022, with public health centers declaring a "desperate situation" amid an eighth wave of coronavirus infections, while some big firms continued to reel from scandals.
The Japanese government has set up a panel of experts mainly composed of academics, municipal government chiefs and lawyers who will review the country's problematic foreign technical intern program and propose ways to improve it.