For these policies to be effective, however, we need to acknowledge that we have reached a turning point with regard to norms of working style as well as employment and wage structures; these can no longer exist with the prime-age male worker alone in mind.
Japanese firms are already fully aware that accommodating to changes in the demographic profile while maintaining an employment and wage system of life-time employment and seniority-based wages is indeed a challenging task: the aging workforce of baby-boomers has pushed up firms' personnel expenses substantially in recent years.