UNIQLO Founder Stirs Heated Debate on What's Best for Japan's Workforce of the Future

"The Japanese people may perish." This "prophecy" from Tadashi Yanai, Chairman and CEO of Fast Retailing, the parent company of UNIQLO, has sparked heated debate.

Yanai advocates for improving productivity through immigration. He has faced opposition from ZOZO founder Yusaku Maezawa.

Other prominent business leaders have also weighed in, igniting a flood of both support and criticism online.

Achieving More with a Smaller Workforce

The debate began in late August during an interview with Nippon TV. Yanai stated, "The Japanese people may perish if they don't learn to get work done with a select few people."

He argued that with the ongoing decline in the labor force, efforts to improve productivity are inevitable. Yanai said Japan should follow other countries by accepting immigrants capable of filling intellectual roles, such as in management and research.

Through this, he claimed, Japan can improve efficiency and achieve results with a small workforce. He also expressed concerns that, as the population declines, "we might reach a point where public and private services start becoming unavailable."

ZOZO founder Maezawa was quick to disagree, posting on X (formerly Twitter) to emphasize the need for strengthening national solidarity. "I feel the exact opposite," he wrote. "I believe that maintaining our Japanese identity will be key to our nation's future strength. I'm uncomfortable with any approach that weakens that identity or blindly conforms to globalism, leading us to be swept away by it."

*A UNIQLO store in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo.*

Japan 'Lacks Energy'

Meanwhile, entrepreneur Takafumi Horie explained on his YouTube channel that globalization is already well underway. "If we try to stop it, we'd have to close off the country like in the days of sakoku. I have to say, Maezawa's view is naive," he remarked.

Additionally, Hiroshi Mikitani, Chairman and CEO of Rakuten Group, stated in a magazine interview, "I don't know the true intent behind Yanai's comments, but Japan indeed lacks energy."

He pointed out that the recent labor reforms, which imposed a uniform cap on working hours, were problematic. "Employees at startups and IT companies in other countries, especially those in intellectual industries, are working intensely. Simply telling people to 'go home early' in Japan won't make us competitive," he said.

Did UNIQLO Help Drive Deflation?

Yoichi Takahashi, a former Ministry of Finance official and professor at Kaetsu University, commented, "The question of whether Japan will perish is a macroeconomic issue, involving both monetary and fiscal policy."

He added, "Yanai and Maezawa are discussing business management, which falls under microeconomics. There are countless ways to run a business, so it's impossible to determine which approach is definitively right."

(Read the article in Japanese.)

Author: Ryotaro Fukuda, The Sankei Shimbun