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Why Japan’s Combini are Increasingly Powered by Foreign Exchange Students
Labor-strapped convenience stores are increasingly turning to exchange students to work the shifts Japanese workers don’t want.
By Himari Semans
Japan is inevitably relying on foreign workers to fill in the cracks created by a plummeting population. In combini (Japanese convenience stores) — an icon of Japanese modernity and lifestyle — exchange students are taking up the majority of positions in many stores across Japan.
Exchange students run combini
Foreign exchange students are increasingly occupying jobs in Japan’s convenience stores nationwide.
90% of employees working at 7-Eleven in Tokyo’s Akasaka area are foreign exchange students, a manager tells Sankei Shimbun. They hail from eight countries including Nepal, China, and Vietnam and are currently enrolled in Japanese language schools.
Even in cities far from the world’s largest capital, such as Hiroshima, international students keep convenience stores open for 24 hours. In a Lawson store near the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, more than half of the…
