Architects and designers in Japan have defended unpaid internships in the country, saying it is a cultural tradition with deep roots.
Responding to the recent controversy over unpaid roles at architecture offices, designers told Dezeen that working unpaid in a small studio was viewed as a "life-changing experience" by students and graduates.
"It is a strong part of the social fabric and something that helps keep Japan running so smoothly," said Nicholas Raistrick, founder and creative director at LABtokyo, a Tokyo training consultancy that works with Japanese architecture and design studios.
"Voluntary work here is really quite common and people do make sacrifices without expecting immediate reward," Raistrick said. "Without unpaid interns many small practices would cease to function," he added. "There is a tradition here going way back to craftsmen who had something similar to guilds [in Europe] where apprenticeships were most often unpaid and taken to learn from a well-known master. To an extent this has continued but I suspect will die out eventually."
"Open desk" internships common in Japan
Japanese architects have been unwilling to speak to Dezeen on the record, given the uproar over revelations that Junya Ishigami advertised unpaid internships while working on this year's Serpentine Pavilion. The client subsequently told the architect not to use unpaid labour on the project due to the backlash.
"We find...