Changing beliefs

Last night, a taxidriver changed my mind.

I don't drive myself and spend half my life lugging heavy musical gear, books or computers from one place to another, so I spend a lot of time sitting in the back of taxis. In other cities, I have talked to taxidrivers who were from that city and had worked as a taxidriver for years. In Nagoya, all the taxidrivers come from somewhere else. There's are lots from Kyushu and even from Okinawa. They all seem to be running or getting away from something else, too. There are failed businessmen - failed because they don't get a second chance in Japan. There are restructured salarymen, too old now to get a new job in a similar company, in Japan where experience seems to count for so much less than loyalty. There are old men who shouldn't really be behind a wheel at all, and certainly not behind a wheel for 18 hours a day driving other people around.

But the guy last night was a genuine Nagoya taxidriver from Nagoya - just like the traditional image of a London cabbie. He has been working at the same company since I was three years old, almost 35 years ago. He lives next to his company in the company dormitory in Shinsakae. HIs pride and belief in the company are immense and he has no respect for those drivers who work for a few years at one company and then move on. Trust is everything. The company will do anything for him that he asks. He is still a few years off retirement, but they have promised him a job after that for as long as he wants. He chooses his own hours to work. In his case, he works from 5am until 6pm each day except Sunday. He sleeps a solid eight hours every night. He is healthy and content. He is proud of his job.

He changed my mind about the loyalty system in Japan. Perhaps it is the source of many of the good things in the country, rather than just being a closed system where people don't get a second chance.

Japan is changing. I wonder how many loyal taxi drivers on the road today will still be driving a cab in the year 2042. I will miss them.