Japanese people are starting to quit their jobs

After decades of inertia, workers are now on the move. Why?

Kawata Yasutoshi was never cut out for traditional Japanese corporate life. As a former guitarist in a heavy-metal band, he found working at a large electronics firm frustrating: particularly the rigid hierarchy, where youngsters did whatever their seniors said. A lot of the work was inefficient, and many hours slipped away either at his desk or at obligatory drinking sessions with his colleagues. Leaving proved tricky, too. When he decided to move to a global IT company a decade ago his superiors berated him, even calling him a “traitor”. Now in his late 40s, Mr Kawata has changed jobs again. “I was hungry for a challenge,” he says.

This article appeared in the Asia section of the print edition under the headline “A new kind of salaryman”

From the March 29th 2025 edition

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