Waiting for pancakes in a Yokohama fast food outlet serves up a reminder of the labour shortage crisis, says Financial Times’ Leo Lewis.
The problem, as Japan cannot yet quite admit to itself, is that the necessary staff probably won’t come and the interim solution - a tactic that might best be thought of as “service shrinkflation” - cannot fool customers forever.
Versions of the crisis are everywhere - some are unsettling. In a country where most of the land mass is hills and valleys, members of the Japan Society of Civil Engineers worry about the huge national shortfall of expertise in bridges and tunnels. Grumpy Japanese websites track in great detail the ways, measurements and timeframe in which shrinkflation has reduced the length of beloved ice lollies, the number of processed cheese slices in a pack or the number of Melty Kiss chocolates in a sachet. A favourite joke centres on Fujiya’s popular Country Ma’am chocolate chip cookies and the forecast that, under its current rates of shrinkflation, each one will be smaller than a ¥1 coin by 2040.
Japan’s services sector - the amazing 24-hour convenience stores and restaurants, the expertly staffed shops, the ubiquitous vending machines, the insanely regular trains and so on - looks very much as if it will have to play both parts of that shrinkflation game. Where companies in other countries may shrug and deliver a worse service as circumstances dictate, Japanese businesses are prisoners of their historic refusal to do that.
Philippines Latest News, Philippines Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Commentary: The hell of other people in the officeThe pandemic eased the scourge of the loud or smelly co-worker but is bringing new woes too, says Financial Times' Pilita Clark.
Read more »
Year-long waiting time for subsidised patients at SNEC sparks concernsThe shock came when an individual was informed that the next available appointment for subsidised patients would not be until September 2024, more than a year away. He then called on the Government to 'relook the healthcare scheme and subsidies, especially for the elderly, who may not be able to wait long to seek appropriate medical care.'
Read more »
Commentary: Here's why people mistook sun bear in China zoo for human in costumeA waving Malayan sun bear in China’s Hangzhou Zoo isn’t a person in a suit, contrary to online speculation. There’s a serious side to all the social media buzz, say these zoology experts.
Read more »
Commentary: Cybertrooper activity in state elections marks irreversible trend in Malaysia politicsThe growing presence of paid political actors on social media is disenfranchising voters and pushing them out of online discourse, say Malaysia-based researchers.
Read more »
Commentary: Is OCBC anti-scam measure a necessary guard rail or heavy-handed overreach?Users are a weak link when it comes to scams, but banks have to walk a tightrope between stringent security measures and customer experience, says fintech CEO Jonathan Chang.
Read more »
Commentary: In an era of cooking videos, will cookbooks die out?Even as cooking videos spawn a generation of influencers on TikTok and Instagram, cookbook sales are still strong, says Bloomberg Opinion’s Bobby Ghosh.
Read more »