Recently, when you search for a part-time job in the dark on Japan X, you will see a notice saying, “Be careful, you looking for recruit information!” along with the address on the website of the Japanese National Police Agency. If you think it’s a little strange after examining whether it’s awkward, contact the police counseling office without delay.
There is a reason why the Japanese government has even started to manage part-time jobs. This is because it has emerged as a big social problem. It is a new crime that spreads around social network services. It means that it is not money that is earned proudly in exchange for labor.
Dark part-time jobs attract people, saying, “You can earn money quickly.” Phrases such as “simple things that anyone can do,” “guaranteeing a high price of more than 50,000 yen per day,” and “pay right after work” emphasize that you can make a lot of money in a short time. As soon as you contact the recruitment post, the means of communication is immediately changed to a messenger known for high security and anonymity such as Telegram or Signal. The contents of the part-time job will be changed to dangerous tasks such as lending your account to tax evasion, watching for criminals to run away, assisting in house break-in, and assisting in theft. It has even caused serious crimes such as robbery, abandonment of bodies, and murder recently.
This is the case with three young men in their 20s and 30s who were caught by police in Yokohama City near Tokyo on Nov. 28 last year. A man in his 20s broke into a house in Yokohama in October that year and took 200,000 yen in cash and ran away. However, a man in his 70s who assaulted him died at the scene. Another man in his 20s hid the money stolen by A in a public toilet, and another man in his 30s, C, collected it and moved it to an apartment in downtown Tokyo. The three men, who “divided their roles” by crime stage according to recruiters’ instructions, were arrested on charges of housebreaking, robbery and murder, and transportation of stolen goods within a month.
“I wanted to do business and save money. I thought I would never get caught,” he testified. However, he paid only hundreds of thousands of won for committing robbery and death.
Even if they belatedly knew what they had to do and wanted to do so, it is not easy to get out of the way. When recruiting part-time workers, they are asked for ID and account number, which is holding back their efforts. In other words, recruiters who have personal information of applicants make threats such as “I will report that they committed a crime” or “I will use your personal information for other crimes.” Eventually, if you follow instructions due to fear, you are more likely to fall into the swamp of crime. Young Japanese people who have emerged as social problems do not just part-time jobs in the dark.
Money is the reason young Japanese people are posing danger to themselves even though they know it will be a stain on their lives. As it is not easy to make money, they are aiming for a chance to make a fortune. A 20-year-old college student who failed to steal a book due to his part-time job in the dark on Oct. 30 last year turned himself in at a police box near Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo. “I didn’t have enough money to buy a laptop and my living expenses were always short,” he said about the motive of the crime. The Asahi Shimbun reported that D, who was in poor family due to his parents’ divorce during his school days, was not financially enough to cover his living expenses by working part-time at a factory. D’s statement that he committed the crime to escape from hardships in life cannot be taken lightly. Most of those who almost joined the part-time job in the dark were in their 20s and 30s. From Oct. 18 to the end of November last year, the Japanese police took “protection measures” related to the part-time job in the dark. About 80 percent of them were in their teens and 30s. The Yomiuri Shimbun’s own analysis of the age groups of 56 people arrested by police for part-time in the dark between late August and early December of the same year showed that 78 percent (44) were in their teens and 20s. Including those in their 30s (10 people), it was 96 percent.
This phenomenon is also linked to the situation of the Japanese economy. Of course, Japan seems to have regained its boom, as seen by the Nikkei 225 Index on Dec. 30 last year, which hit a 35-year high (39,894 yen) based on its closing price. Contrary to these indicators, however, real life in Japan remains tight. Above all, real wages have not escaped the decline for more than two years. Real wages per worker went downhill for 26 consecutive months between April 2022 and May last year. Although it rose briefly thanks to summer bonuses in June and July last year, it turned negative again in August.
In particular, the Engel index (the ratio of food expenditure to living expenses) soared due to high prices. In the third quarter of last year, the Engel index of households with two or more employees stood at 28.7 percent, the highest since 1982. As a result, 33.7 percent of households with annual income of less than 2 million yen (18.73 million won or 11.73 million won or 11.73 million won or 8.73 million won or 8.73 million won or 8.73 million won or 11.25 dollars) increased their burden on households. This is why there are voices of self-criticism that “Japan has become a poor country.” In fact, the younger generation has become much poorer than the past. The poverty rate of Japanese men aged 20 to 24 in 1985 when the economy was booming was just over 10 percent, while it far exceeded 20 percent in 2021. “As more young people made a living by working part-time and non-regular workers, the relative poverty rate of those aged 20 to 24 has increased significantly since the 2010s compared to other age groups,” said Kim Myung-joong, a senior researcher at the Nissay Basic Research Institute.
SOPHIA KIM
US ASIA JOURNAL
