Japanese executive spends ¥25 million retirement payout, returns to work a year later on lower salary

After nearly 30 years at a major Japanese company, former sales manager Makoto Higuchi took a year off with a ¥25 million retirement payout. When he tried to return to work, he found that his previous experience did not guarantee a job on similar terms.

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I liked my job, but I had been under enormous pressure for a long time. At the time, I simply wanted to rest properly.

Higuchi, a pseudonym, retired at 60. Along with his savings, he had about ¥30 million in financial assets, and his mortgage had been paid off. His wife earned about ¥80,000 a month from part-time work, while their average monthly living costs stood at roughly ¥270,000.

He spent the break playing golf, traveling with his wife on weekdays and buying an expensive bicycle he had previously avoided purchasing. He said he had liked his job but wanted to rest after years of heavy pressure.

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Listening to former colleagues talk about their reemployment made me remember the days when I was fighting on the front line. Everyone is still active, and I felt I should still be able to contribute.

A year later, conversations with former colleagues who had returned to work made him think he could still contribute. At 61, he sought a full-time sales-management position within an hour’s drive of home, with weekends off and a salary of at least ¥6 million.

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The choices really are very limited under these conditions.

The jobs available through employment websites and Hello Work, Japan’s public employment service, generally paid around ¥3 million. Many were not management positions and involved sales work different from his experience. Recruiters also described competition as intense, and Higuchi failed to pass an initial resume screening. After two months without success, he lowered his expectations and accepted a sales representative role at a Tokyo machinery-parts company with about 50 employees. The job pays around ¥4 million a year, compared with his previous salary of more than ¥10 million. He said his wife helped him accept the cut because he could still use his experience.

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When I heard the salary, I thought, ‘It has really fallen that much?’ But my wife comforted me: ‘It’s wonderful that you can still use your past experience.’