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Japan's Worker Shortage : The Indicator from Planet Money Japan's worker shortage has gotten so bad it's forced some companies to declare bankruptcy. The solution? Telling workers to work less.

The Indicator from Planet Money

Japan's Worker Shortage

Sally Herships

Japan's Worker Shortage

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In this picture taken on October 12, 2017, people wait for the train at a subway station in Tokyo.
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BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images
In this picture taken on October 12, 2017, people wait for the train at a subway station in Tokyo.
BEHROUZ MEHRI/AFP/Getty Images

Some companies in Japan are going bankrupt because of the country's critical labor shortage. Officials point to a declining birthrate — which has led to a shortage of workers — and an infamously demanding workplace culture that is discouraging some people from entering the job market at all. This past April, Japan's legislative body introduced a novel solution to these two problems: a law requiring workers to work less.

Today on The Indicator, how a cap on overtime could alter Japan's work culture, bring new people — particularly women — into the workplace, and solve the country's labor shortage.

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