Amidst a severe labour shortage, Japanese firms are moving to rehire women that have left the workforce, mostly for family reasons.

Among these companies are several insurers, including Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, and Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance.

Sompo Japan seeks to encourage female workers to return by allowing them to resume at the position they left, or at the very least, just one notch lower.

Though many companies already try to rehire their former workers, many returning employees are given positions much lower than the ones they left, according to a report by Nikkei. According to Sompo Japan, it plans to rehire more than 10 workers annually, and it hopes its new system will be more effective in attracting its former employees back.

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance has extended the time limit for career-track workers to return from seven years to 10 years. Meanwhile, Dai-ichi Life Insurance has changed its limit from 10 years to 15 years.

Software giant Microsoft’s Japan branch has introduced a paid internship of around six months to help female former workers prepare to resume work.

Japanese women who quit their jobs to take care of children or due to their husband’s job relocations are finding it difficult to return to work as they are unable to devote long hours to work. However, with the introduction of telecommuting and shorter work hours, Japanese firms are competing to rehire female former employees, which are already familiar with how the company works, in order to fill the labour shortage.


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