I’m usually an optimistic person. Seeing figures and reading news like the following wakes up the pessimistic beast in me:

Source: Kyodo & Japan Times
“The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate climbed to 5.2 percent in May, nearing a six-year high as job availability dropped to its lowest level on record, the government said Tuesday…”
“The number of people out of work jumped by 770,000 from a year earlier to 3.47 million, the largest ever year-on-year rise and marking the seventh straight monthly increase…
“Separate data by the labor ministry showed the ratio of job offers to job seekers in May fell to a seasonally adjusted 0.44, the lowest reading since comparable records started in 1963…”
“The number of new job offers plunged 34.5 percent from a year earlier. By industry, new jobs fell the most in the manufacturing sector, down 55.9 percent, followed by 46.4 percent in the information and communications industry…”
Source: Japan Times