Japanese media reported on September 17 that Chinese students, who used to be the main force in the field of part-time jobs at Japanese izakaya, are no longer in favor of this part-time job. At the same time, Vietnamese students have become so popular that more than half of the employees of Japanese izakaya are Vietnamese.

The report said that as of the end of June, there were 9,400 part-timers working at 326 directly-managed stores under the Tori Noble banner, of which more than 2,600, or about 28 percent, were Vietnamese, a clear leader among foreigners after the Japanese (64 percent). Part-timers from China, which used to be more than half of the total, are now only 1%. In stores in central Tokyo, it is said that during some hours, all the staff except the manager are Vietnamese.

The background of the competition among Japanese izakaya operators to hire Vietnamese is that it is more difficult to recruit people for izakaya than for other restaurants, according to the report. Not only is it difficult to recruit Japanese, but it has also become increasingly difficult to recruit Chinese part-time workers lately due to the fact that the working hours are from the evening to late at night and the ordering is not systematic enough compared to fast food and other things. Under these circumstances, the number of Vietnamese students has recently surged. According to the Japan Student Services Organization (JSSO), as of the end of May 2016, the number of Vietnamese enrolled in universities and language schools, etc. reached 53,800, increasing to four times the number three years ago. By nationality, Vietnamese students outnumbered Koreans and ranked No. 2 after Chinese (98,483), who took the top spot.

The report said more and more Vietnamese students are working in Japanese restaurants such as izakaya.

According to the Shuman Japanese Language School, which operates Japanese language schools in Tokyo and other areas, many of the Chinese students now rely on living expenses from their families, and more and more are no longer working part-time. Many others are attending test-preparation schools in addition to Japanese language schools in order to get into universities. Even if they do work part-time, they prefer convenience stores with more flexible work styles and duty-free stores where they can use their native languages. According to the report, as China's economy grows, Chinese students are gradually leaving izakaya, and restaurant companies may sooner or later reach their limits if they do not change their traditional business structure, which relies on a large number of staff.