The dark side of Japanese convenience stores

Rising wages and an ageing workforce put pressure on existing staff.

- Harry Dempsey and David Keohane

After Ms Akiko married in 2021, her new husband worked around the clock as a store manager at a 7-Eleven in Japan’s southern Oita prefecture.

He did not have a single day off before he died by suicide almost 16 months later, she said.

“He himself had said several times to the owner that it was too hard and he wanted to quit. But there weren’t enough staff, and because he was the manager, there was no one to replace him,” said Ms Akiko, who asked to speak under a pseudonym. “It would have been better if I forced him to quit sooner no matter what. All I have now are regrets.”

In 2024, the prefecture’s Labour Standards Inspection Office found that the 38-year-old man’s suicide was related to overwork after securing evidence that he had worked without a day off for six months.

Relentlessly efficient, spotlessly clean and offering delicious rice balls, fried chicken and sandwiches 24 hours a day, seven days a week, Japan’s convenience stores are the envy of tourists and a cornerstone of Japanese life.

But the dark side of the franchise business model that has underpinned the nation’s konbinis is becoming increasingly exposed, with the system under strain from labour shortages as Japan ages.

Mr Reiji Kamakura, general secretary of the Convenience Store Union, said store owners were under pressure because they were struggling to hire more staff. They had little leeway to raise wages unless the companies share more of the profits, he said.

“When we say owners are reaching breaking point, I don’t mean a few years from now - I mean right now,” said Mr Kamakura.

7-Eleven, FamilyMart and Lawson all rely on a franchise business model to operate stores, taking a cut of sales or gross profit as a royalty in return for store owners using their brand, products and supply chains.