Japan’s economic growth threatened by dark cloud of labour shortage

Today, the world's third largest economy is characterized by 25% of its population as being over the age of 65. Given the importance of the workforce in driving economic growth, this is a significant concern for Japanese entities. In fact, it’s an economically hazardous bullet train of sorts approaching.

However, we may expact Japan's extraordinary engineering skills, combined with meticulous work practices, to continue to drive it forward, despite the very real challenge of its ageing labour force. There are already signs of enlightened practices that will go a long way towards remediating this. As that trend continues, expect more of the workforce to be actively engaged, and innovative sourcing practices to access a more widely distributed, and perhaps more regional, labour force. Where resources cannot be found domestically, we may see an increase in offshore sourcing.

For companies with their eye on the horizon, here are some tips on how to guard and maintain that most valuable of resources: the workforce.

This whitepaper was created for The 3rd Annual Outsourcing, Business Transformation and Shared Services Summit Japan, taking place November 12-14 in Tokyo