“Yashushi Takimoto hops onto an escalator in a Toyota showroom and surveys the trappings of his new job. Over there are the video screens he must keep going all day. Above, there’s a tiny concert space where he helps set up chairs.” And, the work challenges continue. He must fill a tiny bubble machine with soap solutions every hour.[i]
This is not the type of job the Japanese 23 year-old, political science major expected from graduating from a Japanese university. He expected a well-marked career path starting with a responsible full-time job that ensured promotions until retirement. That was the old Japan Inc. employment-contract paradigm.
[i] Ono, Yumiko, “For Japanese Grads, A Job is No Longer a Matter of Degree,” Wall Street Journal, June 14, 1999, p. 1.