Is the Labor Shortage Real? Why a Matching Service Dedicated to Digital Work Was Created｜aequol Inc.

Established in September 2023, aequol Inc. is a company that spun off of Moon Creative Lab venture Metajob!, a digital work matching service. It is developing a job matching platform for spot work and other services in an effort to provide equal work opportunities to all people. How did the idea come about?

Table of Contents

1. Helping launch Moon Creative Lab
2. Is labor shortage real?
3. Digital work level the playing field
4. Experiences become the true value

1.Helping launch Moon Creative Lab

How did you become an in-house entrepreneur at Moon?

Naohiro Hoshino: Around 2016, I participated in the project that originally created Moon Creative Lab itself. Mitsui had been creating a long-term, 10-year vision and Moon was the centerpiece of that vision. In the next phase, we decided to start creating something from scratch, and we set up the motto "From 'tsunagu' (connect) to 'tsukuru' (create)."

Later in 2018, Moon was launched and during an open call for ideas, I proposed my idea of  a job-matching platform specialized for digital work, which was "Metajob!”

At first, I was thinking of developing a platform that would bundle such things as remote-controlled delivery robots and remote-controlled construction work that can be done without having to go to the construction site, for example, or even telemedicine as another example.

However, many remote-controlled robot technologies have not yet been put to practical use, so I decided to start with remote customer service, which we could start working on immediately.

2.Is labor shortage real?

Why did “digital” become the starting point?

Naohiro: When I explain Japan's demographic projections and effective job openings to people overseas, they get very surprised. Certainly, the shortage of workers is one of the biggest issues facing Japan. However, from a micro-perspective, we also realize that it is not a simple matter, like the ratio of job offers to applicants = 1 or more, therefore there is a labor shortage.

Even if the total amount of work exceeds the total number of workers, various barriers such as age, places to live, illness, nursing care, educational background, work experience, etc. prevent people from taking the first step. To begin with, there are few people who are willing to take any kind of Job. In other words, I feel that a lack of manpower appears to be there, partly because of those barriers.

aequal's vision is to "help corporate business through individual life experiences.” We are trying to create a new market for non-manual spot-work, where people support corporate activities based on their unique experiences.

If everyone stands on the same footing and runs the same 100 meters based on their own character, I think the result would be an interesting world based on different values than what we have seen so far.

3.Digital work level the playing field

What made you feel challenged by work barriers?

Naohiro: I was born and raised in “shitamachi” Tokyo [smaller, more familiar and traditional neighborhoods outside of the modern, cosmopolitan city, typically made of laborers, artisans, and merchants]. My parents were sole proprietors. Many of the families around me were like that. Because I grew up in such an environment, I thought it was natural that after graduating from high school, I would either find a job or go to college while earning tuition fees. At that time, I realized that there is a huge difference in the starting points for running those metaphorical 100 meters.

I then began to wonder if it would be possible to create an environment in which all people could compete from the same starting point. The point is that I am not trying to develop "shoes that make you run faster.* My goal was to create a level playing field, and digital work was one of the approaches to achieve this.

4.Experiences become the true value

Isn't work dependent on past skills and background?

Naohiro: When we tried to link digital workers with companies, we saw early on that securing social trust was an issue. However, there are actually ways of matching where the value is not in the skills or career, but in the individual’s experience itself.

One example of this is the Ijuu Chat immigration consultation service, released in October 2023 in collaboration with Japan Organization for Internal Migration (JOIN). In February 2024, Ijuuchat for Numazu was launched through Numazu Livelihood, a portal site operated by Numazu City for immigrants and permanent residents. And in June 2024, Ijuuchat for Ibaraki was launched for Ibaraki prefecture. We hope to make this available nationwide. 

Until now, local government officials in each area have tried to explain the convenience of living in that area, which is something that prospective immigrants want to know about. In Ijuu Chat, ChatGPT gives a rough answer, and then digital workers who have lived in the area answer the details beyond that. For example, if you ask, "What is the best area for a single mother to live?” a person with experience will answer that question.

This is what makes it valuable – not the skill, but the experience. The fact that you have lived there becomes a value in itself. This system can be used not only for immigration but also for travel, and if a large log of exchanges can be accumulated, data utilization is also possible.

The knowledge we have gained through our various practices is being applied in a wider range of areas as technology advances. The first remote customer service project we undertook was with a company that operates a karaoke box. By taking detailed sensory data from workers, we were able to get a variety of opinions, such as the difficulty of free talk and the demand for fortune-telling. We were able to start quizzes, including murder mysteries and quick-press quizzes, and collect a variety of data as a result.

Now we are able to use that knowledge to conduct increasingly in-depth interviews, such as talking to people who have been using a cosmetics brand's products for more than 10 years, or one company talking to loyal users of a rival company.

Although the public has high expectations for automation through AI and robots, the actual cost of 100% automation is significant, and the division of roles between AI and people is expected to continue to be an important point in the future. I believe that digital work will play a major role there.

Naohiro Hoshino established aequol Inc. on September 14, 2023. In October 2023, he released Ijuu Chat, a migration consultation service operated by both AI and people, in collaboration with the Organization for Promotion of Migration and Interchange. In January 2024, he collaborated with Chukyo Television Broadcasting Corporation and launched Study Jam, a non-advertising method to reach Generation Z and create fandoms. Naohiro has also launched Metajob Research, an online interview service that enables users to obtain candid opinions from consumers, and Super-Subjective Vtuber Scoring, a karaoke scoring tool that uses Vtuber digital workers, which Moon Creative Lab is currently helping Naohiro implement.

Moon Creative Lab also supports various other ventures. Please check our official website to learn more.