Publications – Japan

Doing Business in Japan Webcast CD

By Ames Gross
Price:$350 December 2008
Broadcast by Pacific Bridge, Inc.

With the world’s second largest economy, Japan is an attractive market for Western companies. To conduct business successfully in Japan, Westerners need to understand Japanese culture and business etiquette. The strong hierarchical group mentality and distinct social etiquette in Japan require study and understanding. What messages are indirectly communicated through your way of speaking or your body language? How do Japanese companies balance business with social events? What are common mistakes that Western companies make? What is the most successful approach to doing business with Japanese people?

Our Doing Business in Japan webcast CD will help your company gain the cultural competence needed when doing business with Japanese companies. The 90-minute session consists of a 60-minute presentation, followed by 30 minutes for Q&A.

Termination Issues in Japan

By Ames Gross and John Minot
October 2008
Published by Pacific Bridge, Inc.

Terminating regular employees in Japan is always a difficult issue, due to the restrictive regulatory environment. Lifetime employment is no longer a guarantee for most Japanese, but this has not been accompanied by more flexible standards on termination itself. Firing regular employees almost always requires “just cause,” which is held to a very high standard. HR managers at foreign companies in Japan must have an excellent understanding of relevant laws and business practices in Japan, to avoid exposing their firms to liability. This article will start by describing the strict Japanese legal requirements governing termination, and then explain best practices for working in this environment.

HR and Recruiting Issues in Japan Webcast CD

By Ryuichi Kosaka
Price: $350 September 2008
Broadcast by Pacific Bridge, Inc.

Human resources and recruiting issues are changing rapidly in Japan. While lifetime employment and pay based on age are still the norm, in Tokyo and Osaka, employees are changing jobs more frequently, and pay for performance is becoming more prevalent. Strategies to recruit Japanese executives have also changed, and mid-career job changes are much more common. What are Japanese executives expecting if they work for foreign companies? Which Japanese executives will be best suited for your company? This 90 minute webcast CD includes a 60 minute presentation, followed by 30 minutes of Q&A.

The speaker is PBI's partner in Japan, Ryuichi Kosaka. Mr. Kosaka has more than 20 years of experience with HR and recruiting in Japan.

Effects of Japan's Aging Population on HR Management

By Ames Gross and John Minot
February 2008
To be published in Employee Benefits News

Japan has one of the fastest-aging societies in the world. According to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, Japanese over 65 years old currently make up about 21% of the population. They are projected to rise to 27% in 2018 and to 35% in 2050. With about 4 million people estimated to become eligible for retirement over 2008 and 2009, the resulting worker shortage is an imminent problem that foreign HR managers in Japan must fully understand in order to counter.

Japan Human Resources Update - 2008

By Ames Gross and John Minot
January 2008
Published on HR.com

This article provides updated information on human resources and recruiting issues in Japan. It includes sections on recent changes in labor regulations, updates on government activity and current HR and recruiting trends.

The Strengthening of the Toothless Lion: Japan's New Gender Equality Law

By Ames Gross and John Minot
November 2007
Published on HR.com

With the 1985 passage of the Equal Employment Opportunity Law (EEOL), Japan appeared to be moving to gender equality in the workplace. In fact, the law actually proved ineffective in combating gender bias. However, a new step has now been taken with the heavily revised EEOL of April 2007. The new law requires significantly greater compliance than the old, voluntary version. In another important change, the new law calls for equal treatment of both genders, as opposed to protecting only women.

Japan HR and Recruiting Issues Update - 2006

By Ames Gross and John Minot
December 2006
Published in SHRM International Focus, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management

This article provides updates on the most recent human resources and recruiting trends in Japan. It includes an update on labor law, specifically detailing requirements for overtime pay and termination. The Japanese sytem of lifetime employment is also discussed, and differences between regular and non-regular employees are highlighted. The article also describes Japan's 3-tiered pension system. Finally, the article provides information on current recruiting trends in Japan and how to best find qualified candidates.

2004 Human Resources Trends in Japan

By Ames Gross and Rachel Weintraub
December 2004
Published in SHRM Global Forum, an online forum of the Society for Human Resources Management

Due to the collapse of major financial institutions, the Asian currency crisis and decreased consumer demand, Japan’s economy has struggled since the early 1990’s. However, Japan experienced a mild recovery period in 2003 with a 2.7% GDP, and the average annual GDP for 2004 is expected to be around 2.2%. Nevertheless several economic reports released at the end of 2004 show that the country’s economy is once again on the decline with a decrease in industrial output, increase in the unemployment rate, and decline in household spending. In particular, Japan’s electronics industry has experienced some difficult times. Electronic companies with good sales at the beginning of 2004 are now finding themselves curbing production of some products due to a decrease in demand. The struggling industrial sector has led to an increase in the country’s unemployment rate. The average unemployment rate for 2004 is expected to be about 5.3%.

Economic Challenges Spur Non-Traditional Employment in Japan

By Ames Gross and Caroline Tran
October 2003
Published in SHRM Global Perspectives, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management Global Forum

Traditional employment in Japan has consisted of very conservative concepts, such as lifetime employment and seniority-based pay. However, Japan’s evolving employment atmosphere has Japanese employers re-evaluating traditional employment and seeking creative alternatives. This article discusses the three employment paths that have shown up in the Japanese job market: work-sharing (flexible work schedules), overseas employment, and the growth of part-time workers, or “freeters”. Work-sharing allows previously unemployed Japanese to enter the workforce and overseas jobs have allowed people to build their careers, taking advantage of growing overseas markets. On the contrary, the growth of part-time workers is of concern as they oftentimes are unable to gain significant work experience and skills.

Japan's Labor Market: An Overview

By Ames Gross and Shawna Lepage
June 2001
Published in Corporate Relocation News

This article highlights the major issues currently facing the Japanese workforce. With continuous economic hardships, the employment sector in Japan is going through major changes, often moving away from the concept of traditional employment to non-traditional employment. This shift includes the erosion of the lifetime employment system, lowered retirement ages, the hiring of disabled employees, and encouragement of more women in the workplace. Japan’s new labor market environment will present many new opportunities and difficulties, and will also provoke arising issues for recruiting and human resource trends.

Employment in Japan: The Struggle for Change

By Ames Gross
2000, Issue 3
Published in SHRM International Update, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management Global Forum

The evolution of Japan’s economy and the rapid pace in which the employment sector is changing, has created a variety of human resource transformations. Young workers, older workers, women, and people with disabilities are all facing new challenges and prospects with Japan’s altered employment environment. For example, the notion of lifetime-employment is fizzling out, and young people can now turn to foreign companies for new and different opportunities. However, older workers (those 45 and older) are increasingly cut back from Japanese companies and are left with lower job opportunities like taxi drivers and security guards. This article examines the changing employment environment in Japan and the additional effects on many younger and older workers. Furthermore, the article discusses the changing role of women workers and disabled workers in the Japanese workforce, as their roles have a major impact on Japan’s changing human resource issues.

Japan Employment Update

By Ames Gross
2000
Internal Publication Print Article By Pacific Bridge, Inc.

This article is a review of the recruiting and human resource issues that have arisen recently in Japan, in particular, the career paths of young workers, “older” workers (those 45 and older), women, and the disabled. The changing human resource issues, brought about by Japan’s massive economic transformations, are also changing the recruiting techniques used by companies in Japan -- as online recruitment is increasingly popular over the traditional face-to-face recruiting. Moreover, the Japanese government is moving to reform its pension system, since the decrease of young workers and increase of the country’s aging population over the next several years will significantly reduce the number of qualified workers paying into the system.

New Trends in Japan's Recruiting Practices

By Ames Gross
November 1999
Published in SHRM International Update, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management Global Forum

As Japan’s traditional lifetime employment system erodes, and pay-for-performance tactics increase among companies, recruiting tactics have also changed to match the constant changes in Japan’s workforce situation. This article examines the new tactics used by Japanese companies when recruiting employees, including the use of recruiting agencies, lateral hires and temporary employees. Previously, Japanese companies heavily relied on recruiting from colleges and universities, providing all of the new recruit’s in-house, on-the-job training. By contrast, foreign companies have never had much luck recruiting from universities in the past, and have relied on temporary employees, poaching employees, hiring Japanese returnees, and hiring the occasional expatriate. Oftentimes, foreign companies use these methods through word of mouth, recruiting agencies, and English and Japanese advertisements.

Japan Recruiting Update

By Ames Gross
November 1999
Published in SHRM International Update, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management Global Forum

Traditional human resource methods in Japan continue to be phased out, due in part to Japan’s stagnant economy and corporate downsizing. In addition, Japanese employee expectations have considerably changed to match the new human resource developments. This article discusses the issues of performance-based pay, lifetime employment, women in the workplace, and recruiting in the Japanese labor force. Foreign companies can run successful businesses in Japan as long as they accommodate to the rapid human resource changes in Japan.

Trends in Human Resources Practices in Japan

By Ames Gross
Fall 1998
Published in SHRM International Focus, a publication of the Society for Human Resources Management Global Forum

Japan 's stagnant economy has greatly affected its labor market -- in June 1998, shrinking GDP growth and low business confidence led unemployment to a new high of 4.1%. As a result, some major Japanese companies are turning away from well-established traditions such as lifetime employment and seniority, choosing instead to downsize and embrace merit-based systems to compete in an increasingly global business environment. Employee expectations of the ideal working environment are changing, and recent deregulation initiatives have led to important changes in working-hour flexibility and equal employment opportunity. This report covers major issues in Japan's changing labor market, and gives guidance to foreign companies looking to successfully recruit and hire staff for their Japanese operations.

The Unique Recruiting and Human Resources Practices in Japan

By Ames Gross and Larry Hewes
Spring 1997
Published in International HR Journal

As a matter of background, the Japanese economy is now recovering from a long period of recession and stagnation. It is a “huge” economy in world terms, second only in power and size to that of the United States. In many ways, Japan’s economy is superior to that of the United States; for example, Japan is the world’s largest creditor nation while the United States is the largest debtor nation. Japan runs a trade surplus while the United States has a deficit, and the savings rate of Japan’s citizens far surpasses that of the United States. Japan has a population of 130 million people, and its society --- which has been for centuries, and even during the last several decades, closed --- is opening up more and more to foreign commerce. For example, there are many more foreign cars in Japan now than there were just 10 years ago, and hundreds of U.S. and European companies now do business in Japan.

Given the size of its market and its economic power, it behooves almost any U.S. business to look seriously at doing business with Japan. For some companies --- those whose products are so unique or who simply do not have the resources to establish a physical presence in Japan --- purely exporting may work. For many others, however, setting up an office in Japan and, of course, recruiting and hiring staff are the best way to go. However, one cannot do this successfully without understanding what the human resources issues and labor laws in Japan are, and how the written and unwritten traditions governing business and employment operate in that country.

The purpose of this article is to provide foreign employers with some guidelines on this subject. Recruiting, hiring, firing, termination, out placement, salary, titles, and other basic subjects are covered.

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