WHY HE LEFT JAPAN - Japanese Employee Shares his Story 

He was not living he was barely surviving.

Thank you to whoever made the call to make director a director/camera man. If they didn't do that, we'd never have gotten this awesome channel!

For me the main problem work in Japan is the low salary compared to other developed countries.

I moved from Australia to Japan and the hierarchy thing.. I really feel it lol

need a cathycat German documentary xD

I think your are picking up on extreme case. Working for more than 40hours(5 days) in one week is illegal in Japan and his salary is way less than the minimum wage, which is also illegal. There are104 days(weekend), 10 to 20 days(paid holiday) and 16 days(national holiday) in Japan which means 130 to 140 days off in a year. I work for a famous Japanese global company in Tokyo but usually work for about 30 to 40 hours a week. Sometimes I work over time but get paid at least 1.25 times more than the usual salary and doing overtime work for more than 360 hours a year is also illegal which means in average you are allowed to do overtime work for less than 1 hour a day. I sometimes go to business dinner with my clients but even if my boss invite me for a drink I hardly ever go, and there’s no problem.

With remote work becoming more of a thing, sounds like in an ideal world, you could live in Japan and work for an employer from another country 🙂

That was a most interesting interview. Says a lot about the way things are in Japan. The interviewer also did a very good job of summarizing. I have subscribed!

I used to work at a sushi restaurant, i met up with him one time on our off day to hang out and explore the town one time and he told me before becoming the head chef, he worked in a traditional japanese sushi restaurant as a helper and it was hell. Japanese hierarchy is atrocious and is exactly as this man explained it. You're expected to give your life to the work you do and it will be years before you can even start handling the fish there. So the first few years, you're doing prep work, rice and cleaning. He ended up quitting, and got a job at a different place and lied on the resume. They were looking for a head chef with sushi experience, but in truth he barely handled the sushi and just started learning on the go. To be fair the guy had very good memory and learned things quickly, his english wasn't too great, but he was even able to memorize songs on the radio just from hearing it once. The money he made; he blew it all on gifting them to e-girl streamers, lmao! Turns out his father is rich and he went to america to gain work experience.

When it comes to hierarchy, Japan seems mild compared to Korea

I worked with a Japanese chef in Hawaii and a German chef in Michigan. The German chef was more chill compared to the Japanese chef(I’ve only seen him angry if we weren’t efficient enough in the rush) He was alright to get along with just because I knew some German to get by, and I was the only early employee who understood directions. I only worked there for the summer before moving up north, and I miss that place. I was also paid much better there, and he didn’t like us to work overtime. The Japanese chef spoke broken English, and I spoke broken Japanese, which was an immense frustration. I mostly had to learn by watching him, and if the task wasn’t precisely done like his, he’d kick me out to clean the floors and make tea. I left that job in Hawaii very quickly after being treated like a working slave with so little pay and lots of overtime with some racism (he would call me Gajin girl), which is funny because he’s the gaijin(foreigner) in Hawaii, not me, lol 😅

Props to that gentleman for withstanding such a challenging work environment to reach his goals! Passion and commitment!!

Im not a head chef, my current position is a sous chef and with the employees I work with i enjoy and teaching and training the cooks ro be better. I treat everyone with respect and if I need to discipline I pull them to the side and have a conversation and figure out the breakdown of where the situstion went wrong.

Fortunately, I am retired and when I eventually move to Japan I won't need to worry about working. Although, I may just find something to do to help people without if becoming a job. There is no way I would take that kind of crap from any boss and no way in Hell that I would ever treat my employees in such a manner. It's based on an old adage of "Rank is something you wear. Respect is something you earn!" In short, the employees can learn to respect the boss but, the boss has to earn that respect by showing respect to the employee! Otherwise, Japan has a lot to offer that other countries do not. The quality of food is one of them. The overall cleanliness is another. Of course, there is the very low crime rate. The history and culture, discounting some job issues as with this fellow, is nicely structured and the people are generally friendly. Those are just the tip of the iceberg. Keep up the good work Cathy!

They are right abt the German Chefs' temper. I used to work for a German where he was psychotic and would fire people left & right for making a simple mistake. Glad I left that psycho behind!

I would never do what this guy in the video did, nor would I ever leave after hours just because the older people in the company like to work overtime or just because it's etiquette. In my opinion, it only reduced overtime and sleeping on the couch in the case of the dude because he continues to work with rude people.

I watched a video in which Takashi was himself interviewed about the long working hours in Japan. He said, through RU-vid, he gets up at noon.

Well, this would be an extreme case. I live in Japan and I've never heard of anyone working 90 hours a week. I feel like there is something wrong with the company he was working for rather than the working environment in Japan. I've worked for both Japanese and American companies, and the American company had longer working hours.

No wonder Japan has had a 30 year recession! No offense meant. I love your country but working there would be a challenge. All the more credit to you Cathy that you have survived this long

You are not describing a "high working standard". You're describing abuse. I know about working hard. But you simply don't ask people to work as hard you describe for shitty wages. Japanese simply expect shitty wages and that's all they get. What's more, some of the companies and store owners take advantage of this "culture" of accepting worker abuse. The type of behavior you describe is not how you foster creativity or productivity in employees. Japanese employers seem to continue it because Japanese culture pressures people to not rock the boat and to go along with the crowd. However, I think people confuse this with company loyalty, but I don't think that's what they're seeing. BTW, I would love to come spend a couple of years in Japan. I spent some time there when I was younger and really liked the place and the people. But I'm skeptical that I would work for any Japanese employer. Not that I have to. Software engineers are well paid here and I managed to save up enough to retire early, so I could easily afford to live for a while in Japan without a job. Too bad Japan's visa program doesn't seem to allow for that.

Yeah. No, I wouldn't work under those conditions. Even if I thought I could handle it mentally, my body has proven it has a tendency to rebel if it subconsciously thinks it's suffering. Had that happen with a mere part-time job, here in the states. I thought I was doing fine. The people I worked with were decent folk. The company was very corporate at the higher levels. The only thing I thought I had going on was pre-work anxiety which went away once I got started, and the typical foot pain from standing/pounding on cement for hours at a time. But, then I ended up in the hospital for Ecoli poisoning, and found out I also had high blood-pressure and high blood-sugar counts. (Shy of vein-bursting levels.) On top of that, I sustained a foot injury shortly afterward - a pulled muscle on the bottom of my foot from simply being on my feet on cement for hours. Just like that, in a matter of days, I was having dizzy spells, and had a hard time standing for more than an hour at a time. A large part of it easily was hidden mental stress. I had to quit in order to heal. If I hadn't, I'm sure it would have gotten worse, even with a simple diet change.

日本人かなぁ😮何か変になまったイントネーションで聞きにくい英語だぁ～🥴😵‍💫

For Japanese people, cooking is not just about satisfying their appetite. That's why all the restaurants are delicious. And even though it's a cheap restaurant, their service is top notch. Japanese people are merciless towards such experts. There are many Japanese people who cannot keep up with the professionals.

But if he somehow survives and endures next 15-20 years in Japan as a chef, Big success and glory is waiting for him. That's same in France or Italy I believe. You can get easy job and great salary in Australia now, but for how long? And skill development? Can you get same level of skills in Australia?

つまり海外からの観光客がサービスの質に対して安くてびっくりする裏には､虐待と言えるほどの労働搾取があるということですね｡ 例えばコンビニのワンオペなどは多種多様で複雑な業務内容に対し､あり得ないほど低い給与でしかもほとんどが非正規ですから｡

The previous generation in Japan worked, supported a family and still enjoyed life. This concept of I must have free time and enjoy myself doesn't actually satisfy people. Most people feel happiest while at college/university when they push themselves and enjoy a good balance of work/life and when they graduate they try to kill time, feeling dissatisfied, sitting around, drinking, loneliness sets in, they put on weight. It's good to stay busy. 90 hours is excessive but so is the idea that people work 40 hour weeks and have so much free time that they get depressed and question the meaning of their lives. If you judge us as a species by physical capacity we can do a lot more with our day than most people do.

That's pretty extreme...

The 1980s- Japan hardest working people, thank you for Honda/Toyota, Sony Walkman, Nintendo and Anime !

Foreigner living in Japan here. My first job was in a very popular hotel (near to the tokyo tower) as cleaning staff. It was supposed to be 5 days a week 5 hours per day. The only day that I worked 5 hours was the first one, and the next days were between 6 to 8 hours without any rest, with no permission to have lunch (they didn't let us have lunch or eat anything in the rooms), and they even didn't care if you had another things to do after work, you couldn't leave until everything was finished. They even asked us to go to work on our days off. And the payment? was 1100 yen per hour, even the extra hours cost the same. I love Japan but they had some kind of abusive job system sometimes. I even got bullied in a job interview because I didn't speak or understand japanese (in the job offer it said that you don't need to speak japanese...)

I know what it's like to work long hours, but as much as it sucks, I do it for a better paycheck. Yesterday I was mad because I was hoping for a 12 hr day, but I only got 8 hrs before my work was done 😅. I don't like the idea of having to go out with the boss if he/she asks, once I'm off the clock, that's my time. I wouldn't mind starting a company in Japan, because then I can make the rules, tell my employees they can go home when their shift is over, or put in some OT if they need the money, but working in Japan without the "power" to make decisions, it seems stressful.

We should all trive to work to live, not live to work! Obviously, that’s not always simple! But we don’t just solely exist to work! There’s more to life then working! We need a good work and life balance! The difference being, work is work and life is life, such as hobbies or interests! I know it’s not that simple! But just being like robots, 🤖work, work, work, isn’t good for anybody! I do sometimes feel, like the work culture is turning everyone into robots or zombie, 🤖🧟‍♀️whether intentional or not! We all need a life outside of work and just work, work, work, isn’t good for anybody. I mean, if others have no choice! But we all need to have some semblance of a life, and feel and be happy, from time to time! Happy, for those that do a job, they love and be able to just enjoy existing! And hope that others that haven’t found a job, they enjoy, find their passion!❤

Seniority systems promote longevity in the work place by promising privileges for hanging in there, however purely meritocratic systems require daily results, as the saying goes “you are only as good as your last performance.” Both acquiesce to the subjectivity of those who have the most invested.

Pero ni en los países tercermundistas se trabaja 90 horas. 😐 Ellos no viven, sobreviven.

What I don’t understand is why people used to want others to suffer. Why spending your entire time at the company and force your workers to do the same and never spend time with their family? What’s the point in all of this?

OMG he's gorgeous !!❤❤

thats... crazy tbh

Not so sure I would call that a High Working Standard, more like exploitation.

Watch and learn. You need to be a wizard.

飲食、販売、介護、運輸、その他サービス業全般でブラックな会社が多いのは事実ですね。 でもアベレージの話ではなくこれだけ偏った事案を一例だけ取り上げて、さも一般的みたいに言うと印象操作的に感じます。

全く内容はわかりませんが、英語のヒアリングの勉強に見てます😂

率直に言うと、彼には同意出来ません。 その上司は今の日本では典型的な「パワハラ」扱いで、多くの若い日本人も根を上げます。すぐやめてしまう為、普通なら商売として成り立ちません。不運だったとしか言えません。また、その上司も数十年前の栄光から当時の古い常連客で成り立っていることが伺えます。彼のようなシェフが今新たに日本に出てきたとしても、何もかもが時代にそぐわないとして決して成功は得られないでしょう。 確かに半世紀ほど前なら、上司による抑圧的な職場は少なくなかったと思います。ですが今は多くの職場ではそこまで目上に対し献身的ではありません。日本特有の終身雇用のシステムが薄れてきた為に一つの会社に依存する必要が無く、若者はすぐ仕事を辞めてしまうのも一つの理由でしょう。 それから、人が多いと言いますが、多くの訪日観光客も言うように、人が多過ぎるのは東京や大阪等の一部のメガシティだけで、他の都市は適度に華やかで落ち着いていています。彼のようなタイプの外国人は通常、活動の場として地方都市や田舎を選びます。 私も日本に理不尽な社会システムがいくつかあることは感じます。ですが、年の差で上下が決まる点に関してはそうは思いません。地位や能力だけで上下が決まってしまうと、立場が逆転した時どうなるのか、地位や能力が無い者は世間からどういう扱いされるのか、想像しただけで怖さがあります。 日本では相手がホームレスであれ成功者であれ、その相手が歳上である限り敬語を用い敬い続けます。年齢で目上・目下が決まる日本の仕組みは、本当の意味での礼儀として、また精神衛生上、合理的なものとも考えます。

Need to be self employed there or work for family buisness. Too much bs otherwise

True, in Australia one of my bosses used to make coffee for me. Yes, we joke at work even with the boss.

Poor Japanese people, we need to work to live not live to work

To be fair, 100 hours per week isn't that uncommon in Finance, IT, Consulting, Advertising, Law Firms...

I’m an Australian and my friends in Japan can’t understand our work culture. My boss’s name is Mike and that’s what I call him, we call each other by first name, we joke and we talk to each other about our lives outside the company. Japanese companies have very low productivity and staying at work to show you’re working is crazy. I get a very good wage and 3 weeks paid sick leave a year that can be used to look after sick household members. I get 5 weeks a year annual leave and can buy another 4 weeks if I want the extra leave. I’m able to also use Long service leave that accrues after 10 years service which is 3 months leave. Yes we Australians work to live. When my friend told me about her working circumstances I couldn’t believe it, she a doctor and won’t take more than 5 days a year leave. I think the Japanese system borders on slavery.

I'm glad I'm retired.

I mean if it's repelling foreigners out of Japan, maybe it's a good thing. 🤔

I hope i can travel to australia looks better i dont like so much残業😢

いつまで、 いつの時代の話をしているのやら そう思わせたいのやら。 三流の仕事しかできない遊び人の戯言。

Would never move there

Japanese are crazy 😂

There are ways to do it. Many have already done so. You only need to do a little research.

Ever wondered what a country looks like when it bows to almost every corporate desire? Japan. The culture is extremely rigid, bosses have complete control and superiority to force you to live life their way, worker protections and rights are extremely low.

The problem is that harassment is called the high standard.

あれ...これ日本語ないですね... おじいさんにはさっぱりわかりません。

Selfish ppl in japan

And they wonder why their birth rate is declining

Never work for Japan guys . Even they treated they owned ppl like shat

This is reality so many japanese want to leave japan

Some cultures, such as Britain and Australia are said to work to live - in Britain we have a large hobby culture, whereas there are cultures, such as in America and Japan where it is said that they live to work.