Everything
The struggle is real for the Japanese city of Iga. Currently, the small city that stands in central Japan is suffering from a shortage of Ninjas, the very attraction that brings tourists to the city. According to a podcast by Sally Herships , NPR’s “Planet Money”, the situation is proving threatening for the cities economy.
Each year the city of about 100,000 swells by about 30,000 as tourists come to experience the annual ninja festival, and without it, the city might see fall in wealth, whilst younger residents are moving to the bigger cities for study and work.
“It’s facing a shortage of those two key things you need to keep an economy humming: stuff to sell and people to buy the stuff,” Herships’ cohost Stacey Vanek Smith says.
Now, the city is making a world-wide call out for anyone that wants to be come a ninja. “This job does have a lot to offer,” Herships says. “First of all, the pay is quite competitive. Today, ninjas can earn anything from $AU31,000 to about $AU115,000 — which is a really solid salary, and in fact, a lot more than real ninjas used to earn in medieval Japan.”
The only stipulation however, is that the city of Iga are looking for “ninja performers”, rather than sword wielding, vigilante. Still, sign me up!!
