News Navigator: Will convenience stores in Japan stop 24-hour operations?
January 15, 2021 (Mainichi Japan) The Mainichi Shimbun answers some common questions readers may have about changes in convenience stores operating hours. Question: Are changes being made to convenience stores operations? Answer: The relationship between convenience store headquarters, which provide the trade name and operational know-how, and their franchise stores has been worsening in recent years. A Japan Fair Trade Commission investigation found cases in which headquarters had refused negotiations with overworked franchise owners to shorten their business hours, along with cases in which franchisees were forced to buy items they didn t want. Eight major convenience store chain operators that were singled out over such problems submitted improvement plans to the Fair Trade Commission last November.
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Private-public initiative looks to boost Japan s robot staff uptake with standardized shops The Mainichi
TOKYO Robots are starting to take the place of human workers at supermarkets and convenience stores, but while it s hoped their introduction will be labor saving, the high cost of order-made ones is putting a limit on their wider uptake.
In response to the issue, rival companies, along with a government body, have come together to start a public-private initiative to standardize specifications for robots. The term shared among them for the project is robot work-style reforms. But what does this mean? The Mainichi Shimbun went to find out more.