Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

With a dominance of recruitment agencies when it comes to people switching jobs mid-career, Japan"s labor market is already quite unique in the supposedly egalitarian, information-transparent Internet era. But, paradoxically, the dominance of professional recruiters also create a semblance of uniformity in the job market, by standardizing the image of what is considered a desirable employee. Without explicit intention to do so, decades of norms within the recruiter industry has led to more or less standardized codes on who is considered more desirable as employees in the minds of recruiters, often irrespective of employers' actual needs.

Collecting taxes can be a very expensive exercise for any country. For income and sales taxes, legions of investigators are needed to make sure that the sales and incomes that are being taxed are not being understated to depress the overall tax revenue. For some countries, further efforts are expended to make sure not too many people are being paid under the table and not too many things are sold without proper receipts. Inherence, investment, and real estate taxes can be even more tedious, as specialists are needed to value illiquid assets, whether they be real estate, antiques, or paintings, to get the fair amount of tax revenues.

The convenience store, a 24-hour retail operation that many Japanese (and foreign residents) depend on for the need for a late-night quick meal or emergency provisions of consumables like shampoo and toothpaste, is often a microcosm of the entire Japanese retail environment. Due to their limited space and relatively high prices for goods sold (compared to supermarkets that do not operate 24 hours a day), convenience stores must constantly adjust products on the shelf to reflect what the local consumers really need that they would pay a premium for those items at the oddest hours of the day.

There is plenty of oddities about getting a job in Japan. For new graduates, the most notable is the mass hiring of new graduates that are not tied to specific positions. A month or two of group training that gets the newbies excited about the company is followed by assignments to different departments that are made without consideration for what the new employees want to do themselves. In the olden days, the first assignment will be followed by new assignments that also align more with the interests of the company's needs at the moment, rather than the employee's desire for a certain career.

In the many online event listings for what to do in Tokyo, the current few weeks are being almost fully occupied by various "beer gardens" being held in notable venues across the metropolis. Invariably consisting of some combination of alcohol, outdoors, and sometimes BBQ to go along with the drinks, these summer outings promise attendees a good time while cooling down with friends in an oh-so-hip environment specially designed for those Instagram-worthy selfies. With beer, meat, and photogenic atmosphere, these events seem to promise a good time for everyone from college kids to middle-aged salarymen.

One of what many social scientists consider to be a growing problem of modern economies is the spread of precarious work through the "gig economy." An increasing number of people are working as full-time freelancers, such as drivers for Uber and project-based consultants, through contracts that do not guarantee them fixed monthly salaries and employee benefits like insurance available to full-time staff. With incomes seasonally volatile and subject to changes at any time, such freelancers are rightly protesting their fates as expendable laborers with little leverage over their employers.

When a restaurant receives one or more stars from the Michelin guide (or even just an honorary mention), it is justifiably proud. The restaurant has just earned worldwide recognition from one of the most famous guides for gourmets, giving it the ability to attract a large number of customers from around the world. The status of being listed in the Michelin is not only a sign that the food made in the restaurant is delicious at a world-beating level, but that the uniquely culturally bound service and atmosphere the restaurant provides can be considered universally positive.