Why would they? Partly, maybe, it’s the respect that boldness naturally inspires. That’s not impressive, by social media standards, but considering the obligation he imposes on them, it’s remarkable, even astonishing. His followers on Twitter number some 700. How does he do it? He lives – and is by no means alone in doing so, if Spa! has its finger accurately on the pulse – on “other people’s money.” Now, says Spa! (Jan 14-21), here come the neo-NEETs.ĭescended from their predecessors, they nonetheless differ from them.
Then the economy recovered somewhat, and media attention shifted elsewhere. NEETs were a major social issue through the 2000s. Those who took the part-time jobs for lack of anything better were called “freeters.” Those who refused to stoop to that all too often became NEETs – living, for the most part, off their parents. Low-paying, dead-end part-time jobs were the best many could do – with consequences still with us as that generation advances, bitter, unfulfilled and poor, into middle- and old-age. Young people graduated from college into a work world that had no place for them. Idled youth was an offshoot of the “hiring ice age” that characterized the two-decade-long recession that set in in the mid-1990s. NEET stands for “not in education, employment or training.” Put bluntly, it means doing nothing. Ask him his profession and he has a ready answer: “I’m a new-generation NEET.” “That’s it,” he decided “I’ll never work again.” He does okay, though. Unless those companies change their system, it’s extremely difficult for Freeters to get a full-time job.“Daishi-san,” 25, got fired from a part-time job four months ago. I think one of the biggest problems is that countless companies hire part-time employees to pay less salaries and benefits. Some people argue the number of Freeters is increasing every year. They usually have no insurance so if something happens, they need to pay from their pocket. Companies usually don’t pay any benefits for Freeters because they are part-time employees.įreeters cannot afford to pay retirement pension so there is no pension guaranteed when they retire. Yet as mentioned above, some have a really difficult time getting a full-time job due to stereotype and negative image on Freeters.įreeters also experience lack of insurance and benefits. How can one support family with 2 million yen? It’s impossible.Ĭonsequently, Freeters need to get a full-time job. After 1992, however, the wage decreased and it became difficult to pay everything by themselves.įor instance, the average annual salary for 20s is above 4 million yen and if they have a full-time job.įreeters, however, earn less than 2 million yen annually. I bet he will quit within a couple of years… I’m not going to hire him thenĪs mentioned above, the salary of Freeters was adequate to support themselves before 1992.
This guy didn’t have any full-time job for 3 years… I guess he was lazy and didn’t want to work. Others would wonder why you have worked as a Freeter for a while. Some big companies prefer to hire new graduates from university. It’s not a problem to work as a Freeter for a short period of time, but the longer you work as a Freeter, the harder to find a full-time job. The wage became less and many Freeters had to change their lifestyles. In 1992, however, Price Bubble collapsed and salary for part-time employees changed. Due to Price Bubble (rapid acceleration on economic activity including stock and real estate), part-time employees received sufficient amount of money to live on their own.ĭuring this period of time, the number of Freeters increased dramatically. In late 1980s, great number of employees were in demand by a lot of convenience stores and construction sites. ・are looking for part-time jobs rather than full-time. ・works part-time and doesn’t have a full-time jobs. In addition, Freeters exclude students and housewives.Īccording to Japanese government, a Freeter: It is different from Neets because Freeter have jobs. A Japanese term “Freeter” is used to describe individuals age 15-34 who work part-time. Some young Japanese are Neets, while others are Freeter.