For me, the most interesting bit concerns how these newer Japanese start-ups are filled with ex-employees of major corporations. Leaving a major corporation was completely unheard of when I left Japan in early 2006. Yet today, it seems to be happening.
Do you have any insight into what's driving this new class of Japanese entrepreneur to leave the comfort and safety of Big Corp.? If so, could you guess how widespread such attitudes might be among young workers in corporate Japan?
For one, the younger employees of such megacorps are no longer guaranteed to receive the kind of promotions, raises, benefits, and retirement packages of their predecessors. The more attuned you are to the global tech development at large and the macroeconomic environment, the more you realize that these "stable" companies aren't what they used to be 30 years ago. These companies aren't supposed to have layoffs, yet you see companies from NEC to Sharp cutting workers in the thousands now. The lifetime earnings of a bigcorp guy was said to be $3MM before; now, it's estimated as $2MM for the younger guys.
Second, I think that "high tech startups" have gained significant popular acceptance in Japanese society, which has allowed them to exit bigcorps without being socially stigmatized. (Before, I think it would have hard to even find someone to marry as a startup dude. My friend makes as much money from his website via affiliate ads as he does from his bigcorp job, yet he can't leave the bigcorp since he needs it as a shield against society judging him negatively).
That being said, leaving a big corp is still an outlier. Since a startup exit is so difficult in Japan right now, the "wise" move still may be to stick with the bigcorp job, especially if you're at one of the globally competitive places like the big auto companies or materials suppliers like Shinetsu[1]. It's just that the factors against leaving a bigcorp have become slightly attenuated.
If I can oversimplify a bit, as Murakami-san say: You used to put up with the b.s. that went with working a lifetime in a large, bureaucratic organization. Now that the security & benefits are no longer assured, you see more mid- to upper-mid level workers willing to take more chances and start their own companies.
By no means should you confuse this as being any sort of sea change - the first post is still completely accurate for the majority of young workers, especially - but I think more people are starting to recognize "freelancer" & "self-employed" as something different from "freeter" - a Japanese term that ostensibly means "free + worker" but is really seen as just some young bum who bounces from one part-time job to another.
Do you have any insight into what's driving this new class of Japanese entrepreneur to leave the comfort and safety of Big Corp.? If so, could you guess how widespread such attitudes might be among young workers in corporate Japan?