It seems like only yesterday that the Japanese media was filled with stories of people who were having a hard time finding jobs. Now the word is that companies are facing hard times because of a labor shortage.

In fact some companies are so short handed that they are demanding that employees who want to quit pay damages.

[In one case], a 29-year-old man who works for a computer system development company offered to resign in March. But an official of the firm told him, “We won’t allow you to quit until the system development job finishes in September. If you quit now, you have to pay several million yen in compensation.”

An executive then shouted at him, “(If you quit) I will tell your next employer that you have left this job unfinished.” Under pressure, he decided to stay with the system development company.

At the same time, companies still maintain mandatory retirement ages, refuse to hire older workers, and demand that part timers take on more work without increasing their pay.