BUSINESS
Why Japan’s Productivity Is Low — The Downside of the Seniority System
And why quiet quitting is nothing new in Japan
Working at home while my husband was on a Zoom call with his Japanese colleagues, I heard something strange. As I eavesdropped on my husband’s meeting, I didn’t hear him talk about business at all.
It was the kind of chitchat my mother would have with her neighbors. He even mentioned my publication during the call. Afterwards, I asked him: “What was the meeting about?” He replied, “Regular report meeting.”
This made me recall my own days working at Japanese companies with non-stop chains of meetings that ended with no minutes or next-steps plans. Ceremonial gatherings also seemed not so impactful on business, during which the CEO painted one eye on a daruma doll to wish for a successful new year, and the other eye around the end of the year.
It is no wonder that Japan’s hourly labor productivity has been the lowest among G7 nations for 50 straight years.[1] Yet, many ‘salarymen’ seem somewhat happy to devote their lives to traditional Japanese companies.
Age and Up, or Up or Out
Generally speaking, the corporate ladder is one-way in Japan; everyone climbs it slowly…
