Working Without Financial Security in Japan

働いても生活が安定しない日本――AI時代に必要な雇用と支援

よぎ（プラニク ヨゲンドラ）、博士 2026年10月07日 筆

日本では「人手不足」が語られる一方、働く人が安心して将来を描ける仕事は十分にあるのだろうか。採用件数や失業率だけでは、雇用の実態は見えない。仕事があっても、収入が低く、契約が短く、技能を伸ばす機会が乏しければ、生活の不安は消えない。

かつて日本を支えた終身雇用は、誰もが期待できるものではなくなった。正規雇用者数は増えているものの、非正規雇用者も2025年平均で約2,128万人に上る。有期契約で働く人には、３～４年で契約更新が途絶える不安がある。

民間では一定の条件で無期転換を申し込めるが、その前の雇止めが問題となる。行政の年度ごとの任用でも、働き続けられる保証が弱い。社会を支える仕事を担いながら、自分の生活を安定させられない矛盾がある。

スクールサポートスタッフ、法廷通訳、モデルなどのような仕事も、時給や一回の謝金だけでは待遇を判断できない。準備、移動、待機、仕事のない期間まで含めれば、実質的な収入は低くなる。専門性と責任を求めながら、それに見合う報酬を払わなければ、人材は育たず、定着もしない。

タイミーなどのような単発就労には、働く時間を選べる利点がある。しかし、通勤の時間がカウントされず、会議などの名目で無償で呼ばれることもある。安定した仕事を得られず、生活費のために短時間の仕事をつなぐ人にとって、それは自由な選択とは言い切れない。日々の仕事探しに追われ、学び直しや将来の準備に時間を割けなくなる。

さらに、単発の日雇い就労では、原則として就労先の厚生年金への加入につながらない。継続雇用などによって加入対象になる場合はあるが、単発の仕事を重ねるだけでは、企業と保険料を分担する保障を得にくい。国民年金などの負担は残り、収入は不安定なのに、毎月の支払いは待ってくれない。

住民税や年金の支払いが遅れ、繰り返しの電話や差押えを予告する通知を受ければ、生活に困っている人はさらに追い詰められる。これは、私自身が強く問題だと感じる現実である。正式な差押えまでに手続きがあることと、督促が人に与える恐怖や圧迫感は別の問題だ。納付を求める側には、現在の収入と生活事情を確認し、相談や負担軽減につなぐ姿勢が必要である。

大企業などで経験を積んだ50～60代の人が、配達やタクシーの仕事で生活を支えることもある。どちらも社会に必要な仕事だ。しかし、本人が望む仕事に就けず、長年の知識や経験を生かせないなら、個人だけでなく社会の損失でもある。働いているという理由だけで、雇用政策の成功とは言えない。

日本に技能向上の施策が全くないわけではない。無料の職業訓練や、条件付きの生活支援給付は存在する。だが、職業訓練の中身は時代に即しているか、また問うべきは制度の数ではなく、生活に追われる人が利用でき、所得の向上につながるかである。「学び直せ」と言うだけでは、学ぶ時間も生活費もない人を救えない。

低収入と雇用不安が続けば、人は挑戦する余裕を失う。社会の仕組みに原因があっても、自分の能力不足だと受け止め、自己肯定感を傷つけられることがある。生活を維持するだけで精いっぱいになり、顔を上げて将来を考えられない状態を、本人の努力不足として片付けてはならない。

今後、AIで定型的な一般事務が減ることを見据え、学校では思考力、対話力、デジタル活用力を育てたい。社会人には、生活費の支援を伴う実務的な訓練と、年齢に左右されない再就職の機会が必要だ。税や保険料の相談、職業訓練、就職支援も一体で提供すべきである。国民が技能を高め、所得を増やし、自信を取り戻せることを、雇用政策の中心に据えなければならない。

For more blogs by Yogi, please visit <www.yogi3677.org/blogs>. 他のブログはこちらをご覧ください。

Working Without Financial Security in Japan—Employment and Support in the Age of AI

Written by Yogi (Yogendra Puranik), PhD, on 07 October 2026

Japan is often described as facing a “labor shortage.” Yet are there enough jobs that allow people to plan their futures with confidence? Hiring figures and unemployment rates alone do not reveal the realities of employment. Having a job does not remove financial insecurity if wages are low, contracts are short, and opportunities to develop skills are limited.

Lifetime employment, which once supported Japan’s economy, is no longer something everyone can expect. Although the number of regular employees is increasing, non-regular employees also numbered approximately 21.28 million on average in 2025. People on fixed-term contracts face the uncertainty of having their contracts discontinued after three or four years.

In the private sector, workers can apply to convert their contracts to indefinite-term employment under certain conditions, but non-renewal before they become eligible remains a concern. Annual appointments in public administration also offer limited assurance of continued employment. Performing work that sustains society while being unable to secure one’s own livelihood is itself a contradiction.

For jobs such as school support staff, court interpreters, and models, an hourly rate or a fee per assignment does not fully reflect working conditions. When preparation, travel, waiting time, and periods without assignments are considered, effective earnings are lower. If employers demand expertise and responsibility without paying accordingly, they cannot develop or retain skilled people.

One-off jobs arranged through services such as Timee offer the advantage of choosing when to work. However, commuting time is not counted as paid time, and workers may sometimes be asked to attend unpaid meetings or similar activities. For those unable to find stable employment and forced to piece together short assignments to cover living expenses, this cannot always be described as a free choice. The daily search for work leaves little time for retraining or preparing for the future.

Furthermore, one-off day labor generally does not provide access to the Employees’ Pension Insurance. Continued employment may make a worker eligible, but simply taking successive one-off jobs rarely provides access to pension coverage in which employers share the contributions. In such cases, obligations such as National Pension contributions remain. While the income is unstable, the monthly payment deadlines for insurance, pension, etc. do not wait.

When resident tax or pension payments fall behind, repeated collection calls and notices warning of asset seizure can further corner people already struggling financially. This is a reality that I personally regard as a serious problem. The existence of procedures before an actual seizure does not diminish the fear and pressure caused by collection demands. Those responsible for collecting payments must assess people’s current income and circumstances and help them access advice and measures to ease their burden.

People in their fifties and sixties who have accumulated experience at major companies may find themselves supporting their livelihoods through delivery work or driving taxis. Both are essential jobs. However, when people cannot obtain the work they want or put their years of knowledge and experience to use, the loss extends beyond the individual to society. Employment policy cannot be considered successful simply because someone is working.

Japan does have measures to improve skills. Free vocational training and conditional financial support for living expenses are available. But does the training reflect today’s needs? What matters is not the number of programmes, but whether people struggling to make ends meet can use them and whether they lead to higher incomes. Simply telling people to “reskill” cannot help those who have neither the time to study nor the money to support themselves while doing so.

Prolonged low income and employment insecurity leave people with little room to take on new challenges. Even when the causes lie in social structures, individuals may interpret their difficulties as personal inadequacy, damaging their self-esteem. When people are consumed by the struggle to survive and cannot lift their heads to consider the future, their situation must not be dismissed as a lack of effort.

As AI reduces demand for routine administrative work, schools should develop thinking, communication, and digital skills. Working adults need practical training supported by assistance with living expenses, alongside opportunities for re-employment that do not depend on age. Advice on taxes and insurance contributions, vocational training, and employment support should be provided together. Employment policy must place people’s ability to improve their skills, increase their incomes, and regain their confidence at its center.

参考文献 / References

https://www.stat.go.jp/data/roudou/sokuhou/nen/ft/pdf/youyaku.pdf?

https://www.nenkin.go.jp/service/kounen/tekiyo/jigyosho/20150518.html?

https://www.mhlw.go.jp/stf/seisakunitsuite/bunya/koyou_roudou/koyou/kyushokusha_shien/

For more blogs by Yogi, please visit <www.yogi3677.org/blogs>. 他のブログはこちらをご覧ください。

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