3.6% unemployment and virtually every store has an "help wanted" sign [1] on its front door. Japan is facing an incredible demographic challenge: Japanese population decline has really started 3 to 5 years ago (depending on the source), and it will be getting worse and worse in the next few decades. It means its internal market is essentially shrinking, which makes a terrible case for large investments.
That said the situation is not terrible for workers. I found a job here even though nobody in the company could even talk with me (my Japanese was really bad at the time). The first few months were interesting, we were just communicating with signs and drawings... Programming skills are few and far between in Osaka.
Conversely I know immigrants who took 5 years to find a job in France, which is in the opposite situation: population up, gdp flat, gdp per capita down.
That said the situation is not terrible for workers. I found a job here even though nobody in the company could even talk with me (my Japanese was really bad at the time). The first few months were interesting, we were just communicating with signs and drawings... Programming skills are few and far between in Osaka.
Conversely I know immigrants who took 5 years to find a job in France, which is in the opposite situation: population up, gdp flat, gdp per capita down.
[1] At shitty wage, as you can imagine...