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labor shortage has become the most serious challenge facing japanese society in the context of an aging population and a declining birthrate.

recently, the ministry of health, labor and welfare of japan released the 2024 edition of the labor economy white paper, which summarizes the employment situation and salary trends. analysis shows that in the eyes of companies, the shortage of manpower is "more serious than before the covid-19 pandemic." the white paper said that in the future, continued aging and population decline may make this situation more serious.

the latest japanese population dynamics survey results released by the japanese ministry of internal affairs and communications at the end of july showed that as of january 1 this year, the total population of japan excluding foreigners in japan was approximately 121.56 million, a decrease of 860,000 from the same period last year, a decrease of approximately 0.7%.

chen zilei, director of the center for japanese economic research at shanghai university of international business and economics, said in an interview with yicai global that the labor shortage in japan is because the previous "abenomics" did not achieve the expected results. "has the female labor force been fully released? has the vitality of the elderly been further exerted? has the birth rate of infants and young children increased? 'abenomics' did not encourage these three aspects." chen zilei told yicai global, "and future reforms that do not involve the above three aspects are only short-term actions to improve japan's labor structure."

the "seller's market" trend is more obvious under labor shortage

data previously released by japan's ministry of education, culture, sports, science and technology and the ministry of health, labor and welfare showed that the employment rate of japanese college students graduating in the spring of 2024 reached 98.1% on april 1, an increase of 0.8 percentage points year-on-year. at the same time, many 2025 college students who have not yet graduated have also been "booked". as of may 1, the employment rate of japanese college graduates in 2025 reached 72.4%, an increase of 7.3 percentage points year-on-year.