Early retirement up in Japan as companies seek younger staff

Thousands of workers between 45 and 52 are shown the exit

A businessman crosses a Tokyo street. Workers in their early 50s tend to be paid the most under the seniority-based pay scale common in Japan. © Reuters

REI NAKAFUJI, Nikkei staff writer

December 7, 2019 05:59 JST

TOKYO -- More than 10,000 Japanese workers have been offered or applied for early retirement between January and November as corporations seek to rejuvenate their workforces for a high-tech era.

So far, 11,351 workers across 36 publicly traded companies are looking at early retirement this year, according to data published Friday by Tokyo Shoko Research. This is roughly three times the 2018 total of 4,126 and means the annual tally will top 10,000 for the first time in six years.