Fortune reveals how employees in Japan are paid to sit by window

In Japan, older workers can be paid to do virtually nothing while sitting at a desk at a window.

“If someone doesn’t do a good job, we plant them by the window and give them paperwork,” the 74-year-old said.

These are typically employees aged around 60 and older who have become less sought after due to changes in technology or company strategy. Instead of dismissing such employees, they are transferred to secondary positions, with little or no important tasks assigned to them.

These people are called madogiwazoku, or “tribe by the window.” They may occasionally respond to letters, shift and sort documents while continuing to receive a salary. The practice is connected, among other things, with the system of lifetime employment and remuneration depending on the length of service.

Earlier, in 2025, the share of Japanese residents aged 65 and older reached a record 29.4%. The number of working elderly citizens amounted to 9.3 million people - one in seven workers in the country.