Why Japanese Youth Reject Lucrative Overseas Jobs Despite Low Yen and Wages

For today’s Japanese youth, the yen has never been weaker, and salaries never been lower.

Just across the pond, in Australia, wages for new grads are more than double those in Japan, and yet there is a decline in the number of Japanese youths seeking working holidays in Australia. This trend is not just a quirky statistic; it reveals a deeper, unsettling shift in Japanese society, reminiscent of a bygone era of isolation.

Japanese Youth: An Inward Turn

In a world where the Japanese yen is sinking like a rock and a Japanese passport gives its bearers more opportunities than any other passport in the world(!), one would think the lucrative prospects abroad, like those in Australia, would be irresistible.

Yet, Japanese students and young professionals are increasingly choosing to stay home. Here’s why:

1. Job Hunting Pressure: Japan’s unique job-hunting season, or "shūshoku katsudō," clashes with ideal study abroad periods. Companies favor hiring fresh graduates straight out of university, pressuring students to secure jobs rather than gain international experience. It’s a classic case of choosing security over adventure​, and as companies in Japan are screaming for talent, there is little need for young people to look elsewhere.

2. Linguistic Anxiety: Despite years of rigorous English education, many Japanese students feel unprepared for real-world English usage. This linguistic insecurity makes the idea of studying or working in an English-speaking country daunting and undesirable​.

3. Cultural and Educational Barriers: There’s an entrenched belief among educators that studying abroad is a privilege for elite students. This outdated notion discourages the broader student population from even considering such opportunities.

A Japanese passport allows its bearer to get in visa free to more countries than any other passport

The Great Decline in Study Abroad

The statistics are stark. The number of Japanese students studying abroad peaked at 83,000 in 2004 but has since plummeted to less than 60,000 annually. In contrast, China, South Korea, and India each send over 100,000 students abroad every year. A 2019 survey revealed that Japanese youth had the highest percentage of respondents with no intention of ever studying abroad compared to their peers in other countries​ (The Diplomat)​​ (Asia Matters for America)​.

A Modern-Day Sakoku?

This inward turn is eerily reminiscent of Japan’s historical Sakoku period under the Tokugawa shogunate, when the country closed its borders to the outside world for over two centuries. Today, Japanese youth seems to be entering a new era of self-imposed isolation, not through politics but through cultural inertia and economic constraints.

In fact, these isolationist tendencies are accelerating, with Japan's youth's English proficiency declining rapidly on the global stage.

Is Japan's youth entering a kind of past Sakoku period, a time when the country isolated itself from the rest of the world for over 200 years to control foreign influence and maintain internal stability?

In an increasingly interconnected global economy, this trend could spell trouble. Japanese firms are rapidly expanding their global presence, and they need employees with international experience. The lack of such talent could stymie these companies' growth and, by extension, hamper Japan's economic vitality​.

However, this has also allowed Japanese companies to treat their top talent poorly. As most young people shun prospects of better pay and working conditions abroad, Japanese employers can keep abusing and underpaying them without much consequences. I believe this is a big reason why we see such stagnant wages and lack of talent use even though a shrinking workforce should lead to the opposite!

Conclusion

The Japanese Youth seems to be retreating into a modern-day Sakoku, a self-imposed isolation that could have far-reaching consequences. It’s a peculiar phenomenon, a nation that once sent students on missions to learn from the world, and where young Japanese tourists and workers alike used to flock the streets of Paris, New York, Sydney or London now appears to be shying away from the global stage. Like the Edo era almost 300 years ago, the isolationist tendencies of today's youth may well be a choice, but this time, it’s not enforced by a shogun’s decree but by a collective will.

In this self-imposed bubble, Japan risks falling behind as the rest of the world moves forward. The question is, how long will young Japanese people continue to shut themselves off from the benefits of global engagement? Only time will tell, but the current signs are not encouraging.