Have you lost your job or has your income dropped because of the coronavirus?

Personally no... but I know people both here and back home who have been affected.

Still have my day job but lost some private English students, to my deep regret. Others are in much worse shape, though.

Me no. But almost EVERYONE I know has.

Some projects I was due to work on were postponed, but now they are starting up again, alongside the ones I was due to be working on anyway this month. As a result, I had a couple of quiet months which are now being followed by a couple of crazy months. Hopefully income will balance out over the year.

Yep.

It's a struggle to keep the heads above water. I'm in no hurry to experience living hand to mouth again, so I'll keep fighting against the pandemic.

Solidarity to all of us who are feeling the pinch.

Not at this time.

Volume of projects took a hit from late April, but work is picking up again now. There seems to be something of a staccato recovery going on, not helped by media fear-mongering.

Last year I changed careers into what I always considered the dream job. Taxes totally destroyed me as last year I was making less money than the previous. But I knew I would get up and have a way better time in 2020 since now I have all the connections and the experience... here comes April 2020 and boom. Lost my job as a mountain guide and will lose any opportunity to work as a backcountry guide in winter as well. My other side job as a tsuyaku annai is a no go too, since the tourism industry is currently dead. So I'm back to teaching for a big company just so I could get by and pay rent, taxes and food. The partner's also unemployed due to the number of people his company laid off because of the pandemic. In short, struggling. But I try staying as positive as possible (nenkin payments don't help much with positiveness, tho).

Main job quietly,though suddenly, scheduled to zero so effectively fired and unable to access employment relief due to corona. Quickly secured another job offer luckily, I thought, with a major electronics firm but it was rescinded when the state of emergency was declared and a hiring freeze implemented.

Funny how the loudest complainers about "socialism" didn't return various stimulus funds and didn't complain about the vast majority of stimulus funds going to wealthy corporations. "Privatize the profits, socialize the losses" seems to be their philosophy.

Funny how the loudest complainers about "socialism" didn't return various stimulus funds and didn't complain about the vast majority of stimulus funds going to wealthy corporations. "Privatize the profits, socialize the losses" seems to be their philosophy.

I take it you're referring to me and some others.

Given that it has been government policy that has contributed heavily to the rapid business slowdown, driving many to bankruptcy or close to it, they have a moral duty to provide some compensation - especially since these businesses are big employers of people like you. If it weren't for all these businesses employing people (who themselves pay income taxes) and paying taxes to subsidise the welfare system there to help people in times of genuine trouble, you'd be a lot worse off now. Too many lefties (not all) seem to forget where the wealth comes from and seem to believe the world owes them a living. News: it doesn't.

For the record, I haven't claimed most of the money I could have, but I don't really blame the businesses that have, especially SMEs. SMEs are very different to big corporations which, and I do agree with you to some extent, engage in crony capitalism/corporate socialism. I'm not a fan of that at all.

My main job is fine but all the work was scheduled a year or two ago. The worry is I'll see a drop next year.

The tourism sideline I have died a death in March and is looking like zero for the coming winter too. I know several people who are entirely reliant on inbound tourism and no-one has a clue when that will start again.

I take it I am being quoted and referred to especially "these businesses are big employers of people like you." Yet if you would have read more closely, in my case in Japan as well as many others referenced about the Payroll Protection Program in the US, stimulus funds are accepted by firms yet they cut costs by rescinding pending job offers which are not protected and other cost-cutting strategies.

Additionally, there are too many cases to mention, Amazon in particular, where corporations dodge the majority of taxes by offshoring accounts and of course have benefited from huge corporate tax cuts in the last 30 years.

The tired tropes of capitalists of the "job creators and corporate taxes funding social programs" really have no basis in objective reality and are just used as cover for trickle down economic strategies .

And in this crisis their uselessness has become more than apparent as governments implement massive bailouts, social spending and basic income programs.

Yep, approximately a quarter.

Dagon, I apologize for singling you out in particular - what I mean to say is people in general who are employees and contractors and not business owners/self-employed.

It goes without saying that we’re in a real bind at the moment. Stimulus funds are being accepted, for sure, but businesses have fixed costs of various kinds they need to service, and need to pay their staff as well. There are only so many costs you can cut without having to lay off staff. With governments urging/enforcing shutdown for weeks on end, how else are businesses supposed to make ends meet and employ their staff? Most don’t want to take that money, it’s a matter of pride especially for SMEs.

I don’t know if you’ve ever run a business yourself, but for the vast majority it’s not sitting back counting the money Mr Burns style while your employees chip away at rocks in 45 degrees. Many people like to point out Amazon and the like as mega corps that don’t pay tax. Let me assure you that huge numbers of SMEs resent them because we get stuck with the tax burden they shirk. And yes, businesses only pay tax if they make a profit, but what’s the point of being in business if you’re not turning a profit? And yes, I get that there are many ways to minimize tax, but blame the politicians who make the laws for that, and the big business lobbyists as well if you want.

The tired tropes of capitalists of the "job creators and corporate taxes funding social programs" really have no basis in objective reality and are just used as cover for trickle down economic strategies .

And in this crisis their uselessness has become more than apparent as governments implement massive bailouts, social spending and basic income programs.

Social programs do get funded by corporate taxes, as well as pay-as-you-go income taxes and consumption taxes and all the other taxes. And it’s still not enough! So they print money out of thin air as well, but that rarely goes where it’s supposed to, thanks to crony crapitalism/ corporate socialism (which I’m no fan of - I think. We can agree on that).

But I think you’re letting governments off the hook way too easily. They rarely have to suffer from their screw-ups and get a guaranteed salary and perks regardless of how incompetent and crooked they are, regardless of party. Now they’re nice and secure, safe in the knowledge that no matter how much they lie, cheat and steal, they’re immune from the effects of their bad decisions.

I do hope everyone here can find secure and rewarding employment or their businesses recover, even the people I strongly disagree with, but remember that governments are not your friends, and not all businesses are evil.

But I think you’re letting governments off the hook way too easily. They rarely have to suffer from their screw-ups and get a guaranteed salary and perks regardless of how incompetent and crooked they are, regardless of party.

I never understood the logic of complaining about corporate socialism, and then thinking the solution is in punishing business and giving the government more regulatory powers (which gives them even more ability to be corrupt). The government is paid to represent the people's interest, a businessperson is not.

The blame for crony capitalism lies at the feet of the people we pay to protect our interests, the so-called civil servants who now act more like overlords. The government has never created a single job that didn't mean taking away a couple jobs from the private sector.

Since the China lockout, the tool and die business has gained over 100 new local contracts. I've had to hire and train 5 new tooling and die operators, buy new equipment, and hire new sales and office staff. Also has been good for the local Nobeoka, Miyazaki economy. New job hires means more yen in the local economy.

kyushubillToday  09:24 am JST

Since the China lockout, the tool and die business has gained over 100 new local contracts. I've had to hire and train 5 new tooling and die operators, buy new equipment, and hire new sales and office staff. Also has been good for the local Nobeoka, Miyazaki economy. New job hires means more yen in the local economy.

That's excellent news!

commanteerToday  08:02 am JST

But I think you’re letting governments off the hook way too easily. They rarely have to suffer from their screw-ups and get a guaranteed salary and perks regardless of how incompetent and crooked they are, regardless of party.

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I never understood the logic of complaining about corporate socialism, and then thinking the solution is in punishing business and giving the government more regulatory powers (which gives them even more ability to be corrupt). The government is paid to represent the people's interest, a businessperson is not. 

The blame for crony capitalism lies at the feet of the people we pay to protect our interests, the so-called civil servants who now act more like overlords. The government has never created a single job that didn't mean taking away a couple jobs from the private sector.

I think you're right. The people we pay to protect our interests have failed miserably, and get away scot-free. The mechanisms for public accountability are in place, at least in Western democracies, but they're widely ignored thanks to the influence of money and, beyond it, power. Power beats money any day, because you can feel power, it's a highly addictive raw emotion whereas money is material and a way to get power. And it's been widely abused by elected officials across the spectrum and unelected public servants, as you mentioned, at the expense of we the suckers. People with the power to dispense pain and bad ideas while remaining remaining safe

They don't lead by example and they don't generate any wealth, and there's no hint of taking a pay cut in line with a big chunk of the population that's out of work or taken an income hit directly due to government policies and failures.

One solution is to drastically shrink government to provide to basics, including a social safety net but not an alternative to work, though I don't see them taking that lying down.

Do you think the armed forces, police, fire, all healthcare, education etc. should to be left to the private sector?

Some of those yes, one or two maybe, and the rest could be cut back drastically (the armed forces and spy agencies in particular).

I lost some of my work, yes, and am worse off than this time last year, but I'm luckier than many. What bugs me about the situation here is the hoops you have to jump through for assistance, which still doesn't come for months (I honestly believe it's in part in the hope that you'll shut down before that, and they can say you are no longer a business and therefore don't qualify for assistance, much like they want to raise the age eligible for retirement/pension so that many will day before the government needs to pay out), and to my knowledge there's little if anything in terms of tax relief or postponement. They delivered residence and health insurance tax forms on time while people were still waiting for their 100,000 assistance, and I don't think you can postpone paying even if your in financial difficulty, and since the amount you need to pay is based on the previous year's income, you might have to pay a lot despite your current income having been slashed. They are not helping.

They delivered residence and health insurance tax forms on time while people were still waiting for their 100,000 assistance, and I don't think you can postpone paying even if your in financial difficulty, and since the amount you need to pay is based on the previous year's income, you might have to pay a lot despite your current income having been slashed. They are not helping.

Actually, you should be able to split your residence taxes into more instalments to pay over the year. My wife looked into it in our city and it can be done, though with the typical truckload of paperwork that goes with anything related to city bureaucracy. Not sure about health insurance though.

It's worth a shot, all the best with it.

That this is being debated at all is insanity.

They delivered residence and health insurance tax forms on time while people were still waiting for their 100,000 assistance, and I don't think you can postpone paying even if your in financial difficulty

As far as I’m aware, you can ask for a postponement on the residential tax. My wife’s friend is a self-employed musician and managed to strike a deal with the Adachi ward office.

I was lucky and left Japan in December 2019. If I had stayed until April 2020 when my contract finishedI would have been totally screwed. I would have had no job because my contract would not have been renewed, no house due to cancelling the lease to leave the country and no way out of Japan coz the airlines were shutdown. I got back to Australia and have been able to keep working right through the pandemic.

However, I have many friends who are (were) English teachers in Japan. They are all pretty much screwed. Their salaries have been reduced to 30-50% of what they were last year and they are all struggling with online classes. And, because they are foreigners, they get bugger all support and assistance from the J-gov.

No. Very lucky in that respect. Plenty of Zoom meetings though.

Lost half of my hours in the past month, hoping things will go back to normal soon. Japan is doing better then most countries. My friend overseas complain daily about losing their job, everything being closed down, unemployment in double digits.

Personally no. But my partner has had his work opportunities curtailed by around 80% and so I have had to spend a proportion of my income supporting him.

I hate the online stuff... but it has enabled me to keep my job on full pay. Went online in mid April but was back at the office at the start of June. Will likely be heading online again soon depending on the situation of course.

Been working from home since March..save money on commuting costs, lunches etc . Had to cancel a few pending vacations so actually doing better than before.

Company profits are up, but somehow bonuses are down.

No and business is booming regardless of the pandemic. This is why it is important in any business to have a backup model for worst case scenario. Minor changes in the way we do our business, not to worry about working from home as we moved to that platform years ago, aside business trips which actually cut our travel budget and we implemented that to virtual 3D meetings worked out just fine. We closed a lucrative deal, gave the staff time off, bonuses and by doing so, some volunteered and brought us more work. We recently are working on procuring a sister company and add permanent employees vs the contract. Contracted employees are a good stepping stone to permanent as we utilize this for OJT and hence limit and cut our liabilities. I have talked to several key CEO's and seems they too will be following our model soon. It makes good for business, produces happy employees and brings in profits, win win..

"They delivered residence and health insurance tax forms on time while people were still waiting for their 100,000 assistance, and I don't think you can postpone paying even if your in financial difficulty, and since the amount you need to pay is based on the previous year's income, you might have to pay a lot despite your current income having been slashed. They are not helping."

THIS. Precisely

I nearly doubled my savings, bought stocks in March and April during the stock market crash. My monthly income was not affected.

This question is fine and valid at the moment one answers. But the real economic effect is still on it's way. So many folks saying "I'm fine now" may well be in a completely different situation 3-6 months down the road. While the restaurant business, food resource industries that have relied on those restaurants, tourism industry, transportation, retail business' are the first affected and in the news, eventually it is going to come around to biting everyone in the butt directly or indirectly. The first to fall are companies that were already in trouble before the lockdowns and travel restrictions. The sheer inability to forecast any kind of future cash flow effectively kills any chances of refinancing. Many companies have taken actions, reducing staff, reducing hours, moving towards the type of teleworking that they should have done a decade ago but are now forced into it. The JY100000, or the other measly amounts coughed up by other countries' isn't anywhere near enough as long as this COVID19 situation continues as it is doing now. Which of course is why governments all over the world are jumping the gun on re-opening even if it means increased infection cases and burden on their medical systems.

JT should keep this poll up and we can see how it changes in the next several months.