— Based on https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/07/japan-mystery-low-birth-rate/534291/

POSSE ( a group formed by young college graduates who wanted to create a labor union for young people) calculates that irregular employees earn on average about $1,800 a month, but spend much of that money on rent, paying back their college loans, and paying into Japan’s social-security program.

According to the POSSE leader, an influential writer, about a quarter of Japan’s college graduates—a proportion that roughly corresponds with the share of students who go to big-name universities—are set for life, working in good jobs. Everyone else is struggling to find a stable employment. “Men in their 20s, they don’t have an idea of having families or a house… Most of them feel that it’s just not a reality.” The photo above, from the article, is subject to interpretation. The young man seems to be one of the “struggling majority”, looking to cross the /chasm/ into the land of stable, dependable employment. He can keep trying to get into a permanent job, but I speculate that after a certain age(35?), those hiring teams won’t see a lot of potential in him. 少壮不努力, 老大徒伤悲

— exclub
Q: in the grand scheme of things, how miserable are those “struggling” Japanese graduates?
A: I would say “not too bad” given Japan has a mature, functional welfare system, if they ever fall through the cracks. Most of them are well above that cash-flow low ground. Compared to the older Japanese workers, these graduates are young (therefore in-demand), healthier…
A: where they fare poorly is exclub… the “lucky quarter” is an exclub.