Japan’s sharing economy may have plateaued, but it has changed the country for the better

Anju Ishiyama, general manager, Sharing Economy Association of Japan (L); Yosuke Akiyoshi, CEO of Lancers (M); Masami Takahashi, general manager of WeWork Japan / Photo credit: Tech in Asia / Michael Holmes

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According to a 2017 study, the majority of workers in the US will be freelancers by 2027. In Japan, the number is estimated to be some 10 million, and projected to increase by 3.5 million by 2030.

The upshot of these changes in lifestyle is that the way we work will be more decentralized than ever before. Not only will the gig and sharing economy become the norm, but where, how, and why we work will also be transformed.

For creators and innovators, this brave new world will present a number of opportunities for creating new and more distributed platforms, products, and services – and the realization of new value, networks, and ecosystems.

These were some of the themes discussed at Tech in Asia Tokyo 2018 by panelists Yosuke Akiyoshi, founder and CEO of Lancers and Masami Takahashi, general manager of WeWork Japan, with moderator Anju Ishiyama, general manager at the Sharing Economy Association of Japan.

“We started the business 10 years ago, when crowdsourcing and the sharing economy did not exist,” said Akiyoshi. In Lancers’ early days, his team often had to rely on third parties, like travel agents, when they wanted to book spaces like hotels for off-site meetings or management bootcamps.

Today, with the advent of co-working spaces like those provided by WeWork and crowdsourced task platforms like Lancers, enterprises have more flexibility.

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However, just as the sharing economy is going mainstream in Japan, some are questioning its future prospects. If you consider a typical industry growth pattern, there’s often rapid development in the early stage before things level out, according to Akiyoshi. “I think the sharing economy in Japan is reaching its plateau,” he pointed out.

Takahashi notes that the definition of what constitutes “the sharing economy” is not yet set in stone. WeWork, for instance, provides sharing spaces. But there is also the sharing of ideas within those spaces, which can lead to new products, services, and ways of doing things. So it’s not just a matter of renting space as an asset; it is also about providing an ecosystem in which more can be created than the sum of the parts.

What’s more, co-working providers have seen growth in its community-led events in Japan. The demographic of attendees is quite diverse, including people from all walks of life, ages, and industries, Takahashi claimed.

Although Japanese have a reputation for shyness, he says that at the WeWork in Ark Hills, it’s not unusual to find people who barely know each other enjoying a coffee or a drink in the common areas – and actually talking to each other. It turns out that given the opportunity, frankness and openness can also be expressed by Japanese.

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The gig economy will result in lifestyle and workplace changes that will have an effect on several areas, including people’s social status and the flow of money, noted Ishiyama.

At present, people’s social status is often tied to how well-known their employer or company is. And when they need to get a mortgage for their home, for instance, they have to rely on institutions likes credit rating agencies and banks.

While Lancers’ main focus remains job and talent matching, the company has recently made the move into financial services to address this concern, said Akiyoshi.

“In Japan, freelancers don’t usually get a good credit rating,” he explained. “And if someone that used to work for a good company becomes a freelancer, they can’t extend their rental period when it expires.”

Based on its extensive user database, which can be more robust than what some banks have, Lancers offers certain credit rating services to support such individuals.

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Takahashi ultimately sees a bright future for co-working and other gig-economy formats because of their positive social and psychological impact, as well as their economic advantages.

“In the end, [you have to ask about the] level of passion or happiness you can enjoy in what you’re doing,” he said, suggesting that such positive emotions appear to be in short supply in urban Japan’s more traditional “salaryman” role.

Takahashi cites global survey results reflecting opinions about the level of passion that people felt about their work. “In Japan, only 6 percent of people are passionate about their work (and 70 percent are indifferent). In the United States, it’s over 30 percent,” he said.

For him, there’s a sense of accomplishment that comes with completing a task, learning something new, or meeting different people – and that can be gained in less rigid and more flexible sharing economy spaces and platforms.

Akiyoshi added that the main reason why people choose to become freelancers is that “they want to have freedom and to be themselves. And when you become yourself, you can achieve a high level of passion.”

This is part of the coverage of Tech in Asia Tokyo 2018, our conference taking place on September 20 and 21.