Things Are Picking Up in Japan

There is a definate surge in confidence in the Japanese economy, and word on the street tells us the worst is over.

At a chamber of commerce meeting earlier this week, members of the financial industry, small business owners, government representatives and even companies in the recruiting and HR services industry noticed a definate pick up in business during June. Hotels have also indicated better results in June, so it does really appear that demand is going to return for goods and services to a reasonable level of where things were before.

For us at H&R Group also, we have seen the return of inbound housing and relocation clients at a quite significant pitch in June. June has probably been the most positive month we have experienced since things hit the wall in October / November of last year.

There are a couple of areas of concern, for which only the future can tell;

- What is going to happen to globalization? Have companies reached their peak with globalization and are now going to back to a more locally driven model? ie. Are all managers going to be locally hired now, or will Expats continue to come to Japan?

- What is going to drive the relocation industry into the future? Price or quality of service? It definately looks like price has been the driver in a globalized economy and world, but it will be interesting where this takes us if local HR departments and offices begin to take more power back from the global model.

Have a nice weekend!