Japan sees rare strike as workers protest store sale

STORY: The workers are seeking job and business continuity guarantees, unhappy with reported plans for discount electronics retailer Yodobashi Holdings to take over roughly half of the store.

Strikes are extremely rare in Japan where negotiations over wages and work conditions are typically agreed amicably. This one-day strike - the first at a major Japanese department store in 61 years - followed months of negotiations between Sogo & Seibu management and the workers' union, and comes amid a labor shortage in Japan.