Eavesdropping on the Ginza Line

“Where are you?” In Tokyo, the answer to that question is usually supplied by the name of the nearest station on its magnificent subway system.

Our station is Gaienmae, on the Ginza Line. The Ginza Line was Tokyo’s first, established in 1927. It runs for 10 miles from Shibuya to Asakusa through the heart of the world’s largest city. There’s little reason to consult a schedule since a train shows up every couple of minutes. At today’s exchange rate a fare starts around $1.25, and jumps to $2.00 if you ride from end to end. That’s not bad for a ride that is safe, clean, and yawningly punctual. Day in and day out, a million riders hop on and off its cheerful orange cars.

All of that makes for a wonderful opportunity to eavesdrop on nearby conversations. It’s a great way to keep up on what’s happening in Tokyo.

On a recent subway ride, two young women got on with us at Gaienmae station. They were deep in a rapid-fire “friend” conversation that went by me faster than a bullet train.

Luckily, I have Mayumi, my wife and business partner, as my cultural interpreter and nuance guide. She nudged me and nodded in their direction, a sign for me to pay attention.

They were fashionably dressed in their late 20s. Educated, self-confident, and very articulate. One was married. The other was looking.

The topic of the day was jinzai busoku, the shortage of workers that dominates many conversations here. Their retail company was desperately short of workers. It’s almost impossible to put together 8-hour shifts, so they move workers around to keep stores staffed. The married woman mentioned that her husband’s IT company was also scrambling to find workers. One thing's for sure: no one wants to work in food hospitality.

Their wages are going up and that’s good, they said. But young people prefer freedom and flexibility. They want a Lifestyle, and companies had better pay attention.

And they are. A recent New York Times article notes that women are entering or returning to the workforce in record numbers.

Older workers are also coming back to the workforce in record numbers. But they’re working for companies, at much lower wages, on non-regular contracts with no allowance for overtime. They’re still asked to work long, long hours.

Immigration has become a key response to the desperate need for people to do the work. Enter a 7-11 convenience store and you can’t miss the changing demographic profile. Foreign visas are being issued in record numbers and types. A trip to the packed Immigration office in Tokyo’s Shinagawa district provides visual confirmation.

But the challenge here is more than Help Wanted. It’s also about Help Wanting, and the need for a reimagination of labor productivity.

In 2022, Japan’s labor productivity ranked 30th among 38 OECD countries. Year after year, Japan slides down the rankings. It has fallen behind Portugal, and barely edges out Slovakia for 30th place. Japan delivers just one-third of the productivity per worker as the two world champs, Ireland and Norway.

Simply hiring more people—women, retirees, or immigrants—to work in unproductive conditions will not lift Japan out of its 30-year hole. But Japan’s future, literally, rides on its ability to match talent to opportunity.

The Ginza Line Ladies made it crystal clear that they expect things to change and they have choices. They didn’t sound very patient. Even I could hear that.