Editing Economy of Japan (section)

===Overview===
{{lang|ja-Latn|[[Nemawashi]]}} ({{lang|ja|根回し}}), 'consensus building', in Japanese culture is an informal process of quietly laying the foundation for some proposed change or project, by talking to the people concerned, gathering support and feedback, and so forth. It is considered an important element in any major change, before any formal steps are taken, and successful ''nemawashi'' enables changes to be carried out with the consent of all sides.

Japanese companies are known for management methods such as "[[The Toyota Way]]". {{lang|ja-Latn|[[Kaizen]]}} ([[wikt:改善|改善]], Japanese for 'improvement') is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continuous improvement throughout all aspects of life. When applied to the workplace, {{lang|ja-Latn|kaizen}} activities continually improve all functions of a business, from manufacturing to management and from the CEO to the assembly line workers.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Imai |first=Masaaki |title=Kaizen: The Key to Japan's Competitive Success |location=New York, NY |publisher=Random House |date=1986}}</ref> By improving standardised activities and processes, Kaizen aims to eliminate waste (see [[Lean manufacturing]]). {{lang|ja-Latn|Kaizen}} was first implemented in several Japanese businesses during the country's recovery after World War II, including Toyota, and has since spread to businesses throughout the world.<ref>Europe Japan Centre, Kaizen Strategies for Improving Team Performance, Ed. Michael Colenso, London: Pearson Education Limited, 2000</ref> The corporate application of the {{lang|ja-Latn|kaizen}} system has been criticised for neglecting or harming the quality of life of workers, particularly via the implementation of long working hours. However, according to the OECD, Japan's average for annual hours worked per employee is lower than the OECD average and middling among G7 countries.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://data.oecd.org/chart/5Stk |title=Interactive charts by the OECD |work=OECD Data |access-date=16 March 2020}}</ref>

Some companies have powerful enterprise unions and {{lang|ja-Latn|[[shuntō]]}}. The [[nenko system|{{lang|ja-Latn|nocat=y|nenko}} system]] or {{lang|ja-Latn|nenko joretsu}} as it is called in Japan, is the Japanese system of preferring to promote employees close to [[retirement]]. This is done to prioritise experience in executive positions and to allow older employees to achieve a higher salary level before retirement. The {{lang|ja-Latn|nenko}} system has been criticised for leaving younger employees at a disadvantage against older employees who may be less capable.

Relationships between government bureaucrats and companies are often close. {{Nihongo|[[Amakudari]]|天下り|amakudari|'descent from heaven'}} is the institutionalised practice where Japanese senior bureaucrats retire to high-profile positions in the private and public sectors. The practice is increasingly viewed as corrupt and a limitation on efforts to reduce ties between the private sector and the state that prevent economic and political reforms. [[Lifetime employment]] (''shūshin koyō'') and seniority-based career advancement have been common in the [[Japanese work environment]].<ref name="oecd2008">[http://www.oecd.org/document/17/0,3343,en_2649_34111_40353553_1_1_1_1,00.html OECD: Economic survey of Japan 2008] {{webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20101109122744/http://www.oecd.org/document/17/0,3343,en_2649_34111_40353553_1_1_1_1,00.html |date=9 November 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7193984 |title=Japan's Economy: Free at last |newspaper=The Economist |date=20 July 2006 |access-date=29 March 2007 |archive-date=10 March 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100310215303/http://www.economist.com/displayStory.cfm?story_id=7193984 |url-status=live}}</ref> These practices have become less common in recent years.<ref>{{cite news |url= http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displayStory.cfm?story_id=10169956 |title=Going hybrid |newspaper=The Economist |access-date=3 March 2015 |archive-date=16 January 2010 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20100116011541/http://www.economist.com/specialreports/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10169956 |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Nihongo|[[Salaryman]]|サラリーマン|''Sararīman''|salaried man}} refers to someone whose income is [[salary]]-based; particularly those working for corporations. [[Wasei eigo|Coined in Japan]], the word's frequent use by Japanese corporations and its prevalence in Japanese [[manga]] and [[anime]] has led to its adoption into and common usage within the English language to refer to Japanese [[white-collar workers]], and it can be found in many English-language books and articles pertaining to Japanese culture. Immediately following World War II, becoming a salaryman was viewed as a gateway to a stable, middle-class lifestyle. In modern use, the term carries associations of long working hours, low prestige in the corporate hierarchy, absence of significant sources of income other than salary, [[wage slavery]], and {{lang|ja-Latn|[[karōshi]]}}. The term ''salaryman'' refers almost exclusively to males.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

An [[office lady]], often abbreviated OL (Japanese: {{lang|ja|オーエル}} {{lang|ja-Latn|Ōeru}}), is a female [[office worker]] in Japan who performs generally [[pink collar]] tasks such as serving tea and doing [[Secretary|secretarial]] or [[Clerk (position)|clerical]] work. Like many unmarried Japanese, OLs often [[Parasite single|live with their parents]] well into [[early adulthood]]. Office ladies are usually [[Full-time job|full-time]] permanent staff, with little opportunity for [[Promotion (rank)|promotion]], and there is often a tacit expectation that they leave their jobs if they get married.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

{{Nihongo|[[Freeter]]|フリーター|furītā}} is a Japanese expression for people between the age of 15 and 34 who lack full-time employment or are unemployed, excluding homemakers and students.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Meyer-Ohle |first=Hendrik |title=Japanese workplaces in transition: employee perceptions |date=2009 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |isbn=978-0-230-27424-2 |location=Basingstoke New York |pages=131}}</ref> They may also be described as ''[[underemployment|underemployed]]'' or [[freelance]] workers. These people do not start a [[career]] after [[Secondary education in Japan|high school]] or [[List of universities in Japan|university]] but instead usually live as [[parasite single]]s with their parents and earn some money with low skilled and low paid jobs. Low income makes it difficult for freeters to start a family, and lacking qualifications in the form of skilled labor experience makes it difficult for them to start a career at a later point in life.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}

{{Nihongo|[[Karōshi]]|過労死|''karōshi''}}, which can be translated quite literally from Japanese as "[[death from overwork]]", is occupational sudden death. The major medical causes of karōshi deaths are heart attack and stroke due to stress.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Asgari |first1=Behrooz |last2=Pickar |first2=Peter |last3=Garay |first3=Victoria |date=2016 |title=Karoshi and Karou-jisatsu in Japan: causes, statistics and prevention mechanisms |url= http://apbersociety.org/Asia_Pacific_Business_and_Economics_Research_Society/Journal_files/AsGarPick.pdf |journal=Asia Pacific Business & Economics Perspectives |volume=4 |issue=2 |pages=49–72 |access-date=23 October 2021 |archive-date=30 November 2021 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211130002929/http://apbersociety.org/Asia_Pacific_Business_and_Economics_Research_Society/Journal_files/AsGarPick.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

{{Nihongo|[[Sōkaiya]]|総会屋|sōkaiya}}, (sometimes also translated as 'corporate bouncers', 'meeting-men', or 'corporate blackmailers') are a form of specialised [[racketeer]] unique to Japan, and often associated with the [[yakuza]], who extort money from or blackmail companies by threatening to publicly [[Humiliation|humiliate]] companies and their management, usually in their {{Nihongo|annual meeting|総会|sōkai}}. {{Nihongo|[[Sarakin]]|サラ金}} is a Japanese term for 'moneylender' or '[[loan shark]]'. It is a contraction of the Japanese words for '[[salaryman]]' and 'cash'. Around 14 million people, or 10% of the Japanese population, have borrowed from a {{lang|ja-Latn|sarakin}}. In total, there are about 10,000 firms (down from 30,000 a decade ago); however, the top seven firms make up 70% of the market. The value of outstanding loans totals 100 billion. The biggest ''sarakin'' are publicly traded and often allied with [[List of banks in Japan|big banks]].<ref name="economist">[http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11413090 Lenders of first resort] {{Webarchive |url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080803200610/http://www.economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=11413090 |date=3 August 2008}}, ''The Economist'', 22 May 2008</ref>

The first "Western-style" [[department stores in Japan|department store in Japan]] (called {{lang|ja|デパート}}, {{lang|ja-Latn|depāto}}) was [[Mitsukoshi]], founded in 1904, which has its root as a [[kimono]] store called Echigoya from 1673. When the roots are considered, however, [[Matsuzakaya]] has an even longer history, dating back to 1611 and becoming a department store in 1910. In 1924, Matsuzakaya store in [[Ginza]] allowed street shoes to be worn indoors, something innovative at the time.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.matsuzakaya.co.jp/corporate/history/honshi/index.shtml |title=松坂屋「ひと・こと・もの」語り |publisher=Matsuzakaya.co.jp |access-date=1 February 2013 |archive-date=12 May 2016 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160512182545/http://www.matsuzakaya.co.jp/corporate/history/honshi/index.shtml |url-status=live}}</ref> These former kimono shop department stores dominated the market in its earlier history. They sold luxurious products which contributed to them having sophisticated atmospheres. From the 1920s, [[private railway]] operators started to build department stores directly linked to their lines' [[Terminal train station|terminuses]]. [[Seibu Department Stores|Seibu]] and [[Hankyu Department Stores|Hankyu]] are examples of this practice. From the 1980s onwards, Japanese department stores have faced fierce competition from supermarkets and convenience stores, and they have gradually declined in prominence. Still, ''depāto'' are seen as bastions of cultural conservatism in the country. Gift certificates for department stores are frequently given as presents in Japan. Department stores in Japan generally offer a wide range of services which can include [[Foreign exchange market|foreign exchange]], travel reservations, and ticket sales for local concerts and other events.{{Citation needed|date=May 2021}}