Drivers such as Tomita say the law will instead lead to an exodus from an occupation where most need those extra hours to pay the bills. That has sparked fears of what those in retail and logistics call the "2024 crisis": a critical shortage of truck drivers that, if unaddressed, could leave a third of all cargo undelivered and result in a potential 10 trillion yen ($76 billion) hit to the world's third-largest economy by 2030, by government estimates.