On March 24, 2025, Timee, a Tokyo-based platform specializing in short-term employment, entered into a comprehensive cooperation agreement with Simba Holdings, located in Urasoe City, Okinawa Prefecture. This partnership aims to leverage the unique local context of Okinawa to tackle labor shortages and stimulate economic growth, particularly in the thriving tourism sector.
This agreement comes at a pivotal time for Okinawa, which has seen significant growth in its tourism sector, drawing 9.66 million visitors in 2024—an impressive 117% increase compared to the previous year. Despite the influx of tourists and a job offer ratio that exceeds one, Okinawa continues to grapple with a stubborn unemployment rate lingering around 3%. This mismatch highlights the necessity for flexible employment options to better meet local demand.
Timee's service—often referred to as “spot work”—has gained traction, boasting 10 million registered workers as of 2024. In Okinawa specifically, the number of registered workers surged to 1.7 times more than in January 2024. Moreover, the number of businesses seeking help has increased by 1.8 times during the same period, signaling robust growth in the demand for short-term labor.
Ryo Ogawa, President of Timee, emphasized the unique nature of the Okinawa market, stating, “The market in Okinawa is very unique, and simply marketing does not necessarily mean users will increase. Local word of mouth and trust are especially important in this market.” This underscores the need for tailored approaches to effectively promote their platform to the local workforce.
The comprehensive cooperation agreement includes multiple strategies aimed at bolstering Timee’s footprint in the region. Responsibilities of Simba Holdings include promoting Timee's services to local municipal bodies and economic organizations, enhancing particularly the tourism and hospitality industries that have been increasingly active in recent times. The partnership will also focus on assisting industries with specific outsourcing needs and holding informative sessions for businesses to better understand the benefits of utilizing short-term labor.
In terms of logistics, addressing transportation costs is crucial for Okinawa, which is burdened by its geographic division into numerous islands. The partnership aims not only to reduce these costs but also to enhance disposable incomes through flexible employment opportunities that short-term work can provide.
Shigenobu Anri, President of Simba Holdings, commented on their broader outreach, saying, “Based on the cases of over 4,000 clients we work with, we intend to actively promote Timee’s platform.” This clearly indicates Simba's commitment to driving engagement with businesses across the region, thereby increasing the viability of flexible employment.
Given the current landscape of job availability juxtaposed with the rising number of job seekers, this partnership seeks to mitigate some of these stark discrepancies. By addressing regional challenges, the collaborative efforts of Timee and Simba Holdings could help reshape the employment framework in Okinawa, creating more adaptive mechanisms to capture the region’s potential labor force.
Overall, the cooperation agreement signifies a strategic alignment between two influential players in the labor market, aiming not only to cushion the immediate impacts of labor shortages but also to transition Okinawa’s economy towards a more resilient model that can withstand future fluctuations in demand. With the tourism sector showing signs of robust recovery, now is an optimal time for such initiatives, promising benefits for both the local businesses and job seekers alike.
