Reply #15: Well, the "stagnant" economy is kept going by a number of things [View All]

[Art_from_Ark]

among which, as I alluded to earlier, is the school system-- not only the private tutorial schools and daily transportation expenses associated with school commuting, but also school supplies, uniforms, etc., which are often distributed through Mom and Pop operations, as well as big class trips that help to keep local hotels, souvenir shops, etc., in business. These are some of the unmentioned reasons why there is so much concern about the dwindling birth rate.

As for married women being the first to get the restructuring ax, things are in a state of flux right now. It used to be that an office lady would be pressured to leave (usually in March or April) after she announced her intent to get married. One of the female workers at my company, for example, is getting married soon, and she has left, although it was apparently voluntary.

A long-time female employee I knew at another company left because her new home was too far away from her job. One of her female co-workers quit because she was going to have a baby and, like nearly all Japanese mothers, decided to devote her time to raising her child. Once the child reaches junior high age, though, the mother may try to get back into the work force, probably on a part-time basis. If she does find full-time work, it will probably pay much more than minimum wage, which currently is about $6.30/hour. For example, there is a chocolate factory around here that pays about $100 per 8-hour shift.

By the way, the replacement for the woman who left to have a baby was a woman who herself left to get married, and her replacement was already married when she was hired by the company, and she has now been there for 4 years.