72% of Japan's lodging businesses report staff shortages — here's the government's fix

Seven in 10 lodging businesses in Japan — which has been enjoying a boom driven by a weak yen and surging tourist arrivals — are facing staff shortages, a new government survey shows.

A Japanese government survey of 522 accommodations conducted from December last year through January this year found that 72.2 percent of respondents said they were experiencing labor shortages, Kyodo News reported Friday.

Respondents identified the growing workload on staff during peak seasons as the most pressing problem. They also said heavier workloads were driving employees to leave, warning that the resulting staff drain could trigger a vicious cycle.

The Japanese government recently published a white paper containing the survey findings.

In the white paper, the government said lodging businesses should urgently invest in automated check-in systems and introduce food and beverage service robots. It said improving service quality to raise customer satisfaction could lead to higher sales and, in turn, wage increases for employees.

Also, while Japan is known for its strict immigration policy, the country has been gradually expanding the intake of foreign workers in response to the labor crunch, according to Kyodo News.

Meanwhile, Japan has seen a sharp rise in foreign tourist arrivals on the back of the weak yen. Even as the global tourism industry has contracted amid conflict in the Middle East, the number of foreign visitors to Japan last year reached 42.68 million — surpassing 40 million for the first time.

The Japanese government has set a target of attracting 60 million foreign tourists by 2030.