Canon Electronics

I'd be able to walk fast enough, but not being able to sit down would be a pain in the arse. I believe that Canon will have a deficiency of new workers now ^^;

well...I wish for them that break time ( if they still have 1) have really good chairs lol) but I don't really approve that... If you do 8h a day or more I wish floor Is really smooth!!! Not approve that!

no wonder they make such good products...haha

but thats pretty smart, i wonder what the employees think?

lol do the president have his chair XD!? That would piss me off if he had 1 XD!

If by chance an employee trips and falls while walking too fast and breaks their leg, I wonder how they would handle that legally.

i'll be too busy worrying about how tired my legs are to worry about my work

Good to know the boss of Canon is a nut. An insensitive nut as well, conducting experiments with your own workers. No doubt if lazy workers were shot productivity would increase even more. Hmmm ... sounds like I have a book idea.

is that for real....?! though i do love their products.

I'm speechless about this.

I feel sorry for the employee and would never wanted to work there if I happen to search for job like this. A HUEG DO NOT WANT.

Maybe I should buy one for the sake of their hardwork. ^^;;

Can't argue with results. I'd like to hear what the employees think of all this though. It doesn't seem like too big of a deal. I mean, I worked in a restaurant, and the servers never had time to stop and sit down and were always running around the place, and they seemed to get along fine with each other. Canon's pretty much doing the same thing, just in a different setting.

Some of the Itai comments were pretty funny but still ^^; I'd get tired of standing all day what with my lower back problems >..<

is this for real?

it must be tough standing the whole day

That would be tiring as hell... The employees are probably given more breaks, paid a bit more, and quite possibly work shorter hours.
Dunno how they can stand around all day without their legs giving in. Those people would probably develop some medical problems in a few years time.

"It's that or we bring in the Asimo Robots to do the work." - Canon

This was such a BRIGHT idea. What a flash of inspiration. I love Canon cameras but this is sweatshop type conditions that people should not have to work under. Not to mention, they're all wearing the same outfit.

This is unbelievable. Work for 8/10h without a chair and have to walk 5m in 3.6s ... I think I'll switch to Nikon ;)

china's child laboring gives better conditions than this... in factoris they sit on chairs...
i bet the kids in china are like: IN YA FACE JAPAN! i don't get paid, but at least i have a chair! (XD)
is there a law in Japan that prohibits this? or any employer can abuse like this?

"Don't panic!"

It's a good thing I'm deciding to switch over from Canon to Nikon then!

I think there is some truth to how this guy runs the factory. Nothing puts employees to sleep like a nice comfy chair. Since employees are standing, it forces them to be attentive during meetings. People won't need to reiterate things because someone was sleeping in the corner. This leads to increased productivity and shorter meetings. This leads to less meetings. Less meetings means more time to complete tasks. If you're salaried, this means faster task completion and a shorter work day. In some companies, they have "hallway meetings." This happens when you pull someone over to the side of the hallway to talk about tasks at hand. If this turns out to be enough, they might cancel your next meeting. I've had this happen a couple of times. I find that standing really helps keep you awake. Every so often, I would take a break and walk around the cube farm to clear my mind because my comfy chair makes me drowsy. While I like the lack of chairs, I don't think the walking timer is a good idea. Rushing people around the halls induces too much stress.

I let out a loud laugh reading that. I would say that Canon is going to be the first company to employ the new robots that were featured in Japan recently.

oh dear god.. I feel compelled to take good care of my Canon now. For the welfare of the Canon Otarii-man!!!

While I personally wouldn't want to stand all day, this isn't as bad as it seems. There are many professionals who stand all day, construction workers, many assembly plants are standing only stations. I find it weird that office pros have to stand, but it's actually physically better for you thank sitting all day. As sitting is actually causes stress on your back.

Then the walking at a certain speed, while it seems dumb to force speed, there are health benefits, the faster you walk the more calories you burn, so it does have it's pluses. It doesn't seem as bad as it's made out to bed.

I personally love their cameras, I have enough of them ;-)

Do you want us to change to Nikon don't you?

The standing part does wonders, but there's a fatal flaw; once the feet start aching, the mind will wander off. If it was only for meetings it'll be fine though.

The walking speed censor is just plain dumb. After all, the boss was the one who commissioned the factory to be built; might as well force all employees to buy roller skates. They can go faster thn walking then. ^_^|||

Woah...such dedication...i will never underestimate my camera again...

Danny you still want your Canon freebies don't you? ^-^

These are good measures from the boss. The proof is in the pudding....

Oh... It's not a good office...
In Japan, we can often find things which is against humanity.
They always disappoint me.

MIRAI株式会社 is very attractive, I think. Because it knows human dignity.
If I lived in Tokyo, I should apply with your company.

This is serious, right?

They should include brainwashing in the menu...imagine the loyalty and the increased productivity that they could get XDDD

Yes the employees become more united...in their hatred of the president :'D

so the money he's been saving on the chairs got used to make these fancy walking speed detecting floors ?
i'll stick with chairs if i ever make a company lol

wow... standing 8hr/day >< I already find it difficult standing for more than 1hr

Thats not good for you, you will get spider veins/ vericose veins from standing so long....because the weight of the blood in your veins causes them to distort. It can also cause blood clots which can travel into your heart and cause a heart attack.

This is so extreme :/ Making your workers feel at home makes them work better ^^

While I do find it a bit wrong, at the same time I don't think it's that bad. I stand all day at my part time job all day and only get to sit at lunch. I find that it actually helps me. My back is not in the best condition, and sitting makes it hurt more. Just thought I'd play the other side.

However, once I find a full time web-design job, I hope I get a chair :P

working in Canon is sure full of stresses!

with all this i guess do they have to eat their lunch in 10 minutes flat? and gulp half a cup of coffee in 2 minutes so they dont waste time...
wonder if they have to rush in toilet too else alarms might go off for not peeing too fast.

that guy is a real big nut. i'd just sit on one of those drawers below the table or sit on the floor if my legs start paining. then again, i wouldn't want to work in such a stupid company.

Gosh, it's so stress. You have to keep your speed at 1.38m/s, at least. I can walk that fast, but i can't imagine myself standing the whole day. D=

NO CHAIRS! WHAT!
It's a pain not to take a sit while doing long hours of work...
What a troublesome company this is....

That siren thing is a bit ridiculous but I understand. I personally walks fast with long steps, just a habit but really helps.

Wow that's harsh :/ The no chairs thing is kind of okay lol but the no walking thing? I dunno lol...

Man this sucks.

Seriously I don't believe it'll make any work more efficient.

I'm sure younger Japanese won't buy this rubbish.

Google FTW!

Am I the only one who has a job where you have to stand for most of the day? It's really not that big of a deal not having chairs. You really get used to it after a few weeks and end up in better shape. The hallway speed traps are a bit odd, but really those acting like standing up is some sort of inhumane way to treat the work force must have never done anything but office work. No offence intended of course, it's just that I was really suprised by the force of some of these comments.

I just love capitalism (not).

Keep up the good work?

I couldn't do that job, I have a weak ankle so I can't stand up for extended periods of time or I will colapse. Same with walking, can't walk too far or too much or I will collapse.

It's not so bad in general though. There are many jobs the world over that means you stand for most of the day. Construction workers don't get to sit down, chefs don't sit, shop workers don't sit, plumbers and electricians don't sit, factory workers don't sit, farmers don't sit. The list is endless.

Its hardly inhumanne of cannon.

It does look like a prison, what happened to enjoying your job?

"Lets rush - if we don't then the company and world will perish."
Oh how I laughed, Danny.

i am appalled by this clear violation of human rights. I fully expect the relevant authorities to launch an inquiry and remedy this immediately because, progress at the expense of human rights is no progress at all. makes cannon seem no better than the cut-throat manipulative managers in china they so often criticise.

no wonder my friends keep telling me that people in Japan live like robots

Look like somewhere in China...cut worker basic needs...Orz

And I never bought a Canon product again.

Hisashi Sakamaki will regret this soon enough when the motivation has dropped so much and the stress increased to sich high levels that the employees won't be able to work productively anymore.
And that's coming from someone who has to stand all day on the assembly line... well, almost. no speed sensors here and one can always find the oportunity to sit on some boxes. plus we have 3 brakes during work.

Unions would have a field day with this.

I laughed at the 100m/9.8s remark.

As someone who once cooked on the line standing ten hours straight in front of a burning grill and freaking hot deep-fat fryer, I can attest to the effectivity of being made to stand up at work to increase productivity. Bloody tiring, but effective. Being yelled at the whole time helps too.

As my chef-teacher once said: "If you've got time to lean, you've got time to clean".

Ok, so it's not that connected to standing at work, but that mantra holds true.

Wouldn't the workers be too tired to work because they've been on their feet the whole time?

lol that's a very specific treatment, I wonder what the employees think about it

woah that's scary ^^;;; surprise there are people still working there tho ^^;

It depends on the task, but I wouldn't mind this at all. While in school, all of my jobs were standing only. You'd get written up for sitting. It was a retail, customer oriented store. They wanted people to immediately help customers rather than sit back. I made more in SPIFs than I did in salary. Loved that job. When I wanted to take a break from standing I'd take a seat on the floor and arrange stock in the cabinets underneath the counters to make sure they were neat. If implemented correctly, I see nothing wrong with that idea.

I wish I had a desk high enough for me to stand and work. Sitting in a chair all day hurts. I'd like to do both though, like stand for an hour when my butt/back started to cramp, then sit for an hour when my feet started to get tired, etc.

The speed sensor in the hallway seems pretty suspect.

we need to buy more Canon's or els the employees will lost more things :)

Whoa, that's all sorts of levels of completely ridiculous.

Standing the entire day at work? I hope they have good health insurance and employee reserves because they're going to burn out their workforce some fierce. I can't believe I bought a camera from a company that treats its employees like this.

I'm happy you posted this, Danny, my XTI was going to be replaced by the end of the coming fall or winter - I won't be buying Canon next time.

Not after seeing this. @_@

I'd quit but then again it's good exercise to only stand, the only thing that would keep me there depends on the pay

How can they do that? I stand up for most of the time in my part-tme job (9 hours one day) with the occasional rest, but my feet still hurt. I feel sorry for these people ;_; (although they must be quite fit, a person wanting to lose weight should get a job in Canon ^^)

There are some people who do have their job on their feet all day, but they don't have the restrictions of walking at a specific speed and may even have chairs for their break time. Right now I don't think I have the strength to do my job standing all day, if I was more fit perhaps. If some of the conditions are not met with my first sentence, then the pay better fit the condition...

How would they handle handicapped and elderly workers who can't keep up at that walking pace? If this happened to my firm I would happily take advantage and sue for gobs of cash.

Cool Cool Cool! I wouldn't mind working in such place. I love Canon! (^^)

This is pretty much the only reason why I would never want to move to Japan.
The whole hive mentality surrounding work. No human being should accept these conditions. People seem to discard their dignity for what they believe is a higher good like the success of the company they're working for (altough I'd very much dispute the success of these changes lol).

People act like having a job and working hard is the most important goal in the world. That's sad. I'm a pretty hardworking person myself, but I work solely so I can develop myself. Personal development, happiness and relaxation should always come first...super-efficient working crap should come last.

We only live once, people. Try to enjoy life instead of going through torture in order to be 0.72% more efficient.

Remember, dont lock 'ur knees kids! or you'll pass out like this boy;
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVGdavBgJsk

I gotta say that this seems like a pretty messed up way of working, but there is some sense behind it. If the workers are staying with the company and dealing with it, I guess it can't be all that bad. Personally, I don't think I would be able to not sit all day, my legs just don't have the strength to do it. As for the walking fast, I would be fine with that. I walk really fast as it is anyway, so I wouldn't have a second thought about that.

I would like to hear from the actual workers on what they think about their working conditions. :D

I wonder how the president would feel if they took away his chair or even better, made him a normal employee for a month.
It's like a damm concentration camp -_-

What does he think his employees are? Robots? I couldn't stand not sitting in a whole day >_<

I don't see it's such a bad idea.. it's not like they're going to get whipped if they show signs of exhaustion. ^^'

But I still think they should at least have stools to sit on..

Freaky.. better go with the Nikon D90 I had in mind, feeling less guilt in my hands hehe.

Wow, thats hard. But I still love my Canon DSLR. That's how it is.

Unbelievable! You couldn't pay me enough to work under those conditions.

This is the second bit of odd news I've read about Canon, the fist was a CNN article. In response to the governments pressure on business to do something to promote higher birthrate, Canon lets employees off early once a week so they could go home to have babies, LOL! Now how are they suppose to go home to have sex if they are dead tired from standing and running all day?

I further found this article particularly funny since a friend of mine works in high level management position for Canon in New York. Though I would crack up if his chair was taken away, this kind of thing would never fly here in the states.

HA! I work for Canon photocopiers, and I stand all day as well. Though I do have a nice company car to sit down and drive around in. I'm sure it wont be long until we get the alarms installed ^_^

Canon produce excellent products and maybe this has something to do with it.
Good idea. I should incorporate this in my company.

I can see his point in some respects. When I visits big factories and offices I'm amazed by the sheer amount of slacking off. However the boss is forgetting about motivational factors. He's probably destroying the self-esteem and motivation of his employees.

Unfortunately i can comfirm all this, because i work in Canon Japan...
but i work in the production area, not in the office, and that blue sign in the floor, you have to really walk fast to get 5 meters in 3.6 seconds. in the first day i entered in, the people there make some tests to get my time, not only walking but how fast you can moviment you arms too. depending of the time you score, they choose the place what you will work. its really madness! in the past many people give up in few days, have ones to endure 1 day only!

I've had jobs that involved standing all day, but they were working in retail or restaurants where sitting would have hurt productivity. I can't picture it for an office job; I wonder what they expect to do if one of their employees becomes injured outside of work and simply can't walk that fast or stay standing all day.

Lool.

Hes got no sense - it should be 100 meters for every9.8 seconds
Get rid of the tables too!
This is why suicide rates don't drop

Ah 2ch you never failed to amazie me.

It looks so... depressing... They even have a stripey uniform...

In all actuality, it resembles mcdonalds alot.. you gotta stay on your feet at all times and move quickly... lol

My personal feeling on this?

As much as I like what they do for the economy in Japan, China, and so on... As well was as the stuff for the planet... This kind of business practice makes me feel like this is one of the reasons why their products have been lacking. As in, what I mean, is that that they could make their products a lot better for the amount they sell it at.

Besides that, and hearing this... Yeah. My chances of getting another Canon camera (my first was a hand-me-down of sorts) are even slimmer than before.

Absolutely STUPID!! I will not buy Cannon ever! (Not a problem since I am a Pentax fan) Employees should have the choice if they want to sit or stand. I use to work retail and absolutely hated standing 8 hours. If I decided to sit I would get yelled at! I now have a real job where I can sit or stand.

How dare a company dictate how you work! And how fast you walk!! I wish all the employees just walked out one day. This really upsets me. Does anybody know if the president has a chair? or does he also follow his own dictation.

That's one of the sillist things I have ever heard. If this was posted on April 1st I would not have believed it for a second. :P

I worked in retail in the past, which made me stand for 6 hours a shift - I can vouch that it did not improve my work ethic.

Wow.. and I thought some places had it bad.. Thats about, the worst.
THough taking away computers does help productivity.. but, The chairs.. Everyone needs a chance to sit down at least once or twice in a day.

Honestly, I can see the guy in charge's point.. A loafing employee isn't making him money. But, I can also see the employees staging a revolt.

So.. Yuck

no words, ugh :(

there is a backlash by new generation workers to not want to be focussed only on promotions

0_o There HAS to be something illegal here. Somewhere.

Now I know everytime I buy a Canon product, its is made from blood sweat and the hard labor of the canon slaves. LOL

A good worker dosen't need to be abused, this is horrible.

The employees must have a hard time running hear and there without even sitting and having a break .

This is against Human Nature and the employees should do something about this but since the economy is breaking down , I think I know where the Boss wants to make his money worth it .

remember me to never buy a canon, to avoid the support of slavery, I know they make great cameras, but this is too much, I go for sony now

I have a Canon Powershot camera and I love it. However, I am looking for another camera. Maybe I'll look towards an entry level D-SLR or a advanced point-and-shoot.

I hope this does not end up being the successor of toyotism!

IMHO, this it too much. Canon, you have disappointed me.

I JUST WANNA SAY THAT THIS EDITION OF "YOUR PORTAL TO JAPAN" HAS BEEN ONE OF THE BEST IN SOME TIME NOW....I DIDN´T EXPECT SUCH SURREALITY IN IT.....THANKS!!!

As an employee, it sounds like an awful idea.
As an employer, it sounds like an excellent idea.

Contrary to what the majority of the members think of this method, if there actually is in fact better results that are produced, I am highly fond of ideas such as these. Although I don't know why he chose to get rid of chairs specifically. I suppose it's to get rid of the feeling of relaxation from those comfy office chairs.

We're all lazy, a lot of us are lazy at our jobs, including me. Although I know it's wrong to be and act lazy, if the opportunity is there to act as such, I usually take up on the offer during my work hours. This method is supposedly to combat against that. Don't you hate it when the person you're working with does half the amount of work you do, gets payed the same, never gets in trouble for it, and the person in charge doesn't care?

It's a job. You get payed for it, so do it; instead of lazying around or complaining. If you don't like it, get another/better job; it's not like you don't have a choice.

Many of you question the legality of this. Not having chairs at your desk would hardly be against the law. There are plenty of other jobs which require you to move and stand around all day. Also, I highly doubt that there is absolutely no chairs in the building; just at the work areas. Obviously, there would be rest and dining areas with chairs to sit down on your break.

As for the 5m/3.6s rule, that's basically 5km/hour[~12min/km] or 3.1mi/hour[~20min/mi] walking speed. If you own a speedometer or run the treadmill, you should have a decent idea how fast that is. My regular walking speed is 3mi+/hour, and over 4mi/hour when I'm speed walking in a hurry. I'm considered to walk pretty fast compared to others, so I supposed this speed would appear fairly quick to the majority but no where near too fast to have complications.

I will never work in a place like that =(

The boss should get the brain checked...or have a book of human rights thrown at him...

How's the anti-Canon propaganda going for you Danny? ^^"

Funny that though. In some of my classes, we sit at benches where standing or sitting on high stools are both viable options. I've come to find that I do indeed work harder/faster/more when I'm standing instead.

I'm able to blitz through a whole 5-6 lab exercises while standing, where in other classrooms where there are proper desks and chairs, I don't get any work done at all!

It really helps increase work volume and I can totally understand where the boss is coming from. But really, he should give a choice whether to stand or sit and show statistics at the end of the day/week to further motivate the workers. Well, perhaps that has already happened and some sort of majority result has made it mandatory to stand...

Well, it's not that I agree with standing constantly, but I definitely see the benefits of workdone while standing.

Wow, never thought such rules exist in a company, I mean no chairs??!! Hisashi is insane, I wonder if he has any chairs in his room at all, its like ripping the employees' right. I'll think twice before I buy any Canon in the future. Danny, can you do a Nikon tour as well? I wonder if Nikon Japan has any chairs for their employees, chances are pretty high, right?

Canon was named 'Kwanon' by Goro Yoshida after the Buddhist bodhisattva Guan Yin. But now its being ruled by the satan.

Satanon.

Wow, not a place to apply at for me. I can't do very well after 5 hours of constant standing and would really like to sit down after that and would sit down on the floor if have to.

Sorry but, Aso-san, this is your victim. It's a real threat to all of us

I'm really against this type of company that restrict employee freedom.. just like NPC said above "A good worker dosen't need to be abused"

I'm going quit buying Canon product..!

Working standing is ok and standard for most factory work, but forcing the employees to rush and walk fast is absurd. And I see in the picture that they're doing desk work standing, that's stupid. Even if your job asks you to work standing, you should be able to work at your own pace, and take breaks.

been thinking of switching from canon to nikon -not because of danny mind you- this might just push me over the edge. D=

Well.. at least the employee's don't need to think about exercising anymore =X But standing for so long is really tough on the legs.

Brain washing? How nonsymmetrical! (Current Time: 00:10)

^o^ The canon story. I didn't see the orginial, but thought it was a joke from some of the comments my tumblr comrades where making...

Wow I'd hate to work in those conditions.

Those working conditions and stripey uniforms remind me of prison.....

They should invest in some Segways.

Hmm... do they allow for bathroom breaks or do you just pee in a cup?

At least they are allowed to dress with their job in mind. Clothing is very casual and good shoes for standing.

I have spent time working on my feet all day, so I could do it again. Right now it would be nice to be working again. It would be nice to be in Japan. I would be there if Canon wanted me.

man that sucks

wow, that's crazy. it's going a bit far with the measuring of how fast people walk...

America should think of doing this too. Then they wouldn't have so many obese people.

im not sure if this is just plain inhumane or just plain ingenious

"Hes got no sense - it should be 100 meters for every9.8 seconds" LMAO! That's the world's fastest sprint record ^^;

If the factory is huge, get a Segway!

ROTFLMAO @ the comparison pic ^o^

I have a feeling many people will highly disrespect canon if they know this... me included now... i think from now on,i will have second thought when i am going to buy a canon product, be it camera or printer

this is such an abuse of human labor, canon ought to get sued if they don't change its ways

I've heard of an Australian company which takes away chairs in meetings, but this? Lawl.

It's time for AKUMETSU >:D~~~~ !!

not sitting down that suxs man but walking fast is okay.

Luckily I don't have to feel guilty as a Nikon user... ^^;

This is not normal. People shouldn´t be treated this way. This is the side of Japan I don´t like.

Needs segway + rocket booster tank

Amazing, this isn't normal, such a thing is impossible in Europe. Japan is one of the richest countries but at what cost...

wow....

I would not do that. Is this some sort of healthy-employees-work-harder thing?!

I think the boss is pushing his employees to their limit in order to squeez out their last bit of ability and motivation. But, is this statement true? The higher the stress, the higher the productivity?

thats just ridiculous...

The closest thing I have seen to this is a boss, who got the idea to keep everything on the computer. In order to ensure this he got the idea that everybody should get a new place to sit every day. This means no personal items at work. I think it's unhealthy if you don't have a "my place". Without such a place you don't belong there and working in a place where you don't belong sounds rather rough. I'm quite sure they want to hire me, but I would never survive in such a place X_X

"This is why suicide rates don't drop"
I think there is some truth to this one. Surely it does nothing to make people like their work.

"I feel despair for the employees. I'm not buying Canon"
I thought about the same thing. I really wanted a G10, but now I'm uncertain.

And you will see that the big boss has a really nice comfi chair :-) I would never work in these kind of conditions!lol

I think the only thing that's strange about standing all day at work is the fact that it's an office job. I suppose that generally people take careers with a certain expectation of their working environment, and that's what makes it seem so unbelievable. People who become chefs or doctors don't expect to have a desk and chair and people who become Accountants don't expect to stand at an assembly line. Theoretically, this seems like it *could* increase productivity and efficiency, but I am glad that I have my own desk with a chair when I go to work. Having said that, however, I have definitely fallen asleep at my desk before!

Good idea, but someone in P.R. deserves a raise if they get out of this without any problems.

Oh man... now I feel bad for supporting Canon all this time... but I love my XSi! D:

How amusing... I guess I'm doing the right thing in owning a Nikon DSLR and a Panasonic Lumix G1? Am I right? @.@

I would never work at a place that tries to tell me if I sit down or stand at work. Even less if they regulated the speed at wich I walk? That's like something out of a Sci-fi movie or something. Glad I havent got any Canon products. Sure won't be buying any either! :<

I don't want to get job like that, but...
Unfortunately, the labour standard law went to nominally, because penalty is very mild punishment to company president and lesser labour demand or too many people want job. Then, average Japanese people should be patient for longer work time and harder work. Also many Japanese company has company union, some of them are linking company's human resource bureau.

Web site of Canon Union, available to see only for insiders. (password required for ALL PAGES except top page)
http://www.cwu.gr.jp/

Why Canon increase to defective merchandise? or many dusts on clean room (in Japanese)
http://www.toyokeizai.net/business/strategy/detail/AC/44dfb22fc8e7ad2fba4e5ebd41f5e9fb/

I can't believe people are debating the merits of standing versus sitting! This is not work, it is SLAVERY. The workers here are denied sitting. Being denied sitting is inhuman. This is the reason that unions spring up during the Industrial Revolution. People should get mad as hell and not STAND for it any longer. The stuff of revolutions. Boycott Canon at the very least.

that crazy, imagine being on yoru feet for 9 hours a day (U.S. work day). Well I must say I do love my canon, so if my XSI is the result of no chairs and fast walking at work, then GO CANON!

Still wouldn't mind working for them. I'd draw the line when they have starving gators released in the halls making sure you run along... wait a second that sounds like an awesome reality show!

Although I don't mind the walking fast part the no chairs? I'd die especially since I have hypotension. I can't stand in one place too long or I'd faint. I know some schools have gotten rid of chairs too? D: Students spend the whole lesson standing. I don't think I'd make it.

This story should increase traffic to this website, it's getting publicity from a number of photography websites.

I don't see Nikon workers sitting down either eh?
http://www.e-fotografija.si/templates/?a=1132&z=93&page=2

Also, when were those pictures taken? These are more recent shots of Canon's assembly line:
http://img33.imageshack.us/img33/1305/pspro90isimg.jpg

Do you see any major differences?

I understand you have an overwhelming bias seeing as you got paid for a Nikon commercial, but you can at least have some integrity.

I'm a stocker and on a normal work day I spend about 8 or so hours on my feet. Though, I'm not standing in one spot the majority of the day and I'm constantly moving. So, I can see how it might be a little odd not to have chairs in an office enviornment. I do think the minimum walking speed is ridiculous, though. Also, was it mentioned what their break room is like or how long they have for breaks or lunch?

This topic remind me back when I'm having my 6 month training at canon Opto Malaysia.
This is where they making some lenses and assembles some camera but not for DSLR.
I've been assign to tool production department according to my speciality.
This is the first time I've been working with Japanese worker.
They sure work fast.
Sometimes i cannot keep up with them.
They just work and work even sometimes i want to start a conversation and ask the about japan and they seems to ignore me and dint want to answer my question because they so serious in their work.
At last they start to talk to me because I've been asking them about their family.
one of the worker actually miss his daughter and son.
This is also the first time I've been expose to Japanese culture where before work there will be exercise and do some cheering.
There will be Japanese song during exercise.
and the cheering kinda funny at first.
Because we will be facing each other and do the cheer.
The cheer is in Japanese and already forgot what its sound like.
They have ringer when it comes to break tie.
So everybody will go according to the time.
After finished there i receive a letter thats they want me to work there.
But i dint go because i want to continue my study.
the situation there is different in this topic picture.
only in assembly and polishing line where you need to stand up from start to end.
other than that the seat they provide is to comfort thats make you wanna sleep when at work.
They also provide Japanese language class.
Even they have some Japanese quizzes and other Japanese event thats give a lot of good prize to take home.
This is encourage u to learn Japanese language.
If u work good enough, they will send you to japan as an exchange worker.
100% support by the company.
There will be annual dinner to celebrate the worker.
But the thing is u need to work ahead of time.
If u are walking with the Japanese worker, u better hurry.
And one thing I've observe there is that they always work for quantity and not for quality.

DANG Nikon D5000 *wolf whistle* >__<

Thanks for introducing this in your site. I've translated the original article in the address below;
anyone is free to proofread (because I'm not a native English speaker) and reprint this. I've also protested
against their parent company Canon, only ending up with a reply "They started this on their own". What a disgusting day!

http://www29.atwiki.jp/business-ethics/pages/69.html

that's extra challenge
what about in Nikon???

That president is 100000% nuts! The company will bankrupt very very soon.

Nikon D5000 ain't that expensive, is only $699 bucks. Back in 1995 I payed over $1k for the shitty Kodak DC40 (756x504).