**The big picture:** Japanet Holdings is opening a new mail-order call center in Nagasaki, creating 300 new jobs and significantly increasing wages for 1,000 existing contract and part-time employees. **Why it matters:** This move highlights a company's proactive strategy to attract and retain talent in a competitive regional Japanese labor market, setting a precedent for wage adjustments. **Between the lines:** - Japanet will expand an existing customer inquiry center tenfold into a new call center. - Wage increases average 13%, with some employees seeing up to a 24% raise. - Hourly wages for part-time staff will increase by up to 180 yen, while contract employees could see monthly increases of up to 42,000 yen. **Staffing & HR impact:** This aggressive wage adjustment strategy could influence recruiter mobility in the region and impact gross margins for companies competing for similar talent. It also sets a new benchmark for compensation in regional call center operations. **The bottom line:** Watch for other Japanese companies to follow suit with wage increases as labor market competition intensifies.