HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT IN JAPAN2.1 Introduction For several decades, Japanese companies have been quite successful when it comes to their human resources department. Traditional features of Japanese human resource management included permanent employment and a seniority-based salary and promotion system. These systems were considered the key to the good performance of Japanese companies. However, several changes in recent years, such as international competition, evolution in the service sector, older and aging workforce, and changes in the mindset of the younger workforce, are compellingly changing Japanese companies.2.2 Competition globalDuring global competition In the age of 1990s, there was a reduction in the hiring of freshers due to excessive manpower. This has forced managers to abandon the job-for-life approach. Employers started to believe in outsourcing work from other labor supply companies as this allowed them to control and manage the level of workforce according to their needs. 2.3 Current situation To reduce costs, the benefits and benefits of jobs have been slowly reduced. Cost reduction has helped companies compete with foreign companies. Instead of based on the time employees work, companies have started paying them based on performance, the so-called piece rate.