Game designer and programmer Tokihiro Naito, whose career in video games spans over forty years, recently brought attention to an issue in Japan\u2019s game industry that\u2019s rarely talked about \u2013 age-based discrimination. Now serving as a director at M2, Naito is the developer behind numerous titles including T&E Soft\u2019s Hydlide from 1984, one of the first Japanese-developed action RPGs, and one of the first open-world games.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Taking to his personal X account on October 14, Naito wrote, \u201cWhen I was on the verge of becoming unemployed at 50 after my employer decided not to renew my contract, I applied to nearly a hundred companies. But about 90% of my applications were rejected at the document screening stage. The reason cited was my age. They didn\u2019t even bother to look at my skills.\u201d Shockingly, the developer reveals that among the companies that did offer him an interview, some admitted to only doing so \u201cso that they could have a chance to meet Naito Tokihiro,\u201d even though they were not actually considering him for the job to begin with. In the end, Naito says<\/a> he managed to secure a job only thanks to a stroke of good luck and personal connections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n