> The ice-agers’ misfortunes contrast starkly with those of the generation that came just before. During the bubble years of the 1980s, companies hired voraciously.

> Everything changed as the bubble popped in the early 1990s. Japan’s rigid employment system made it hard to shed existing workers, so they cut hiring instead. The ratio of job openings to college applicants fell from nearly three at peak to below one by 2000.

> Many graduates who failed to secure regular jobs ended up in temporary or contract work. Japan’s labour market sharply distinguishes between regular workers, who enjoy strong legal protections and seniority-based pay rises, and irregular ones, who often do similar work for much less money and are the first to be laid off in downturns.