Society
Why Japan's Convenience Stores Went Foreign
A piece reporting 80,000-plus foreign part-timers across Japan's big-three convenience chains — with a former Seven employee's account — set off a heated debate. The core argument was structural: low wages, ever-expanding tasks, brutal solo overnight shifts, and head-office squeezing mean 'Japanese stopped applying before foreigners arrived.' A substantial strand defended foreign staff as competent and polite, and noted that in depopulated areas a convenience store can be what keeps a community alive. Opinion split.