If dismiss one person, it’s harassment.
But if dismiss tens of thousands, become a renowned business leader.
Dismissals are sanctified as restructuring, based on the number.”
In retrospect, the "lifetime employment system" was possible in Japan due to the era of rapid economic growth.
It was a relic of a time when large corporations never went bankrupt.
However, in present times, there are no longer any major corporations in Japan that can maintain the lifetime employment system.
Not only that, the competitive landscape for workers has changed dramatically due to IT and AI.
Many workers who lost in the competition find themselves without a place within companies, forcibly ousted.
Nowadays, not only is the concept of lifetime employment disappearing, but non-regular employment is threatening to replace regular employment.
However, Japanese politicians and business leaders who turn a blind eye to this reality continue to believe that the lifetime employment system is still intact and that it's the source of all evils.
To begin with, ruling party politicians and business leaders dislike "workers."
It's understandable.
The confrontation between "ruling party politicians & business leaders" and "workers" during Japan's era of rapid growth was so intense that it could have led to revolution.
Consequently, although the competitive conditions for workers have changed, and the conflict between labor and management has become a thing of the past, business leaders continue to dismiss workers with statements like "lack of results," "not enough effort," "lack of ability," "aging," etc.
For workers, this has turned into a cruel world.
The minds of politicians and business leaders remain stuck in the initial settings of the Showa era, without any significant updates.
It's crucial to facilitate a generational shift to avoid Japanese workers becoming the unhappiest in the world.
Nevertheless, Japan is a "capitalist country," and workers are separate from citizens.
Workers in capitalist societies are mere tools for "capitalists" to efficiently obtain high returns.
In such a Japan, the likes of "regular employees," cumbersome, expensive tools, naturally become obsolete.
That's capitalism.
For "capitalists," it might be a logical outcome that cost-effective "non-regular employees" become the mainstream, but it's excessively cruel.
Regrettably, for workers who provide labor to capitalists and receive compensation in return, unless they're fortunate enough to become part of the capitalist elite, they must work until they die.
However, citizens who fail to recognize such a grim reality are deluded by the state and capitalists with concepts like "welcoming extended retirement" suitable for the "era of 100-year life."
In comparison to workers, politicians and business leaders who have triumphed in competitions are astute.
They meticulously construct various systems to suppress "worker income" and to make them work until their death.
These decisions are lauded as excellent "political judgments" and "management decisions" that align with the interests of "capitalist countries" and "businesses."
However, for workers, it's nothing short of a living hell.
Today's multinational corporate executives, who lead the world, have no need for patriotism; profit expansion is what matters.
They pour earned money into investment opportunities that can maximize returns.
They don't even return profits to their home country of Japan if growth prospects aren't apparent.
Furthermore, Japanese corporate executives are strangely fond of overseas expansion.
Driven by self-satisfaction or the desire to travel abroad, they eagerly pursue overseas ventures even when they can't speak English properly.
For executives, overseas M&A might provide a sense of excitement akin to becoming top-tier managers.
However, many of these M&A ventures end in failure.
To rid themselves of the ill-conceived notions of being top-tier managers, these executives resort to restructuring, resulting in the annual layoff of tens of thousands of employees in Japan.
Yet, no one seems to notice this reality.
Tempted to say, "Enough is enough."
Charlie Chaplin once said, "One murder makes a villain. Millions a hero. Numbers sanctify."
Corporate restructuring is akin to this.
"Dismissing one person is harassment, but letting go of thousands makes one a renowned CEO. The scale of dismissals is what sanctifies it as restructuring."
