Jiang Feng, a special correspondent of this newspaper in Japan: In recent years, a new social group has emerged in Japanese society, called "informal laborers."
The "informal" here does not mean that they violate laws and regulations, but that they break the "9-to-5" routine of working in the society in the past, and choose to work freely and arrange their working hours freely between the ages of 25 and 34.
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun**4, there will be about 730,000 such people in 2023 a year, an increase of 140,000 from 10 years ago.
According to the latest labor force survey released by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, there are 2.37 million "informal workers" between the ages of 25 and 34 in the country. According to the report, although this number is 640,000 fewer than in 2013, it is still a social group that cannot be ignored. Why are there so many "informal workers" in Japanese society? According to the results of the Labor Force Survey of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications of Japan, when the reasons for "informal employment" were surveyed in 2023, 31Nine percent of respondents said they "want to work freely", up 10 percent from 20136 percentage points.
A 65-year-old employee of a Japanese company who has just retired mentioned his 32-year-old son and 28-year-old daughter sighed to a special reporter of the Global Times: "When I was looking for a job, I was desperately looking for a large company, and the 'lifetime employment' system at that time was known as one of the 'three treasures' of Japan's post-war revival. But now, neither of my two children is officially employed in the company, and one is a 'contract worker' in an auto parts company, which is renewed every yearThe other works in a shopping mall and has to change malls every once in a while. They say that they want to stay free in life, and they can't sell their whole lives to businesses like their fathers. In an interview with the Global Times, Yuzo Kato, former president of Yokohama City University, said: "In the 90s of the last century, with the collapse of Japan's 'bubble economy', the 'lifetime employment' system of enterprises also began to collapse, and the proportion of men choosing informal employment increased year by year. Although women's social independence is increasing, many people still choose informal employment in order to get married, take care of children, or care for the elderly. Fundamentally, this is not only the result of changes in the values of young people, but also of changes in the structure of the Japanese economy and companies. ”
According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun**4**, more and more young people are choosing flexible work positions, including those who need to take care of young children or elderly parents. While "informal workers" typically earn 30% less than regular employees, and their social security contributions are insufficient, making their pensions beyond their means, so Japan** may need to reassess existing social security schemes. ▲