Do many people switch companies?

Most companies still operate on a system of lifetime employinent and promotion according to length of service, so people are generally unwilling to leave an organization which offers the security of guaranteed employment until they retire.
Even if people want to change companies, they worry that prospective employers will wonder why they left their previous job and assume they did so under unpleasant circumstances.
Even supposing that a person does succeed in obtaining a position in a different company, he or she is not assured of receiving the same salary.
The employment structure in Japan until now had made it difficult for many people to change jobs.
However, since the end of the economic bubble in 1991, many troubled companies are trying to reorganize and reduce their staff, and have started to set up retirement funds to encourage workers to leave the company before retirement age.
Companies are now more actively pursuing restructuring with such measures as shifting of personnel, and so the number of people being forced into career changes is increasing.
Among the younger generation, the idea of dedicating oneself to a particular company for life is losing appeal, and as the annual salary system becomes more widespread, it is expected that more people will change jobs to make the most of their abilities.