日本的企业改革正进入效率与获利大幅提升的拐点，但若无制度设计，财富将如美国1980年代后般高度集中：美国前10%持有45兆美元股票，而后50%仅持有0.5兆美元。日本目前仅7%员工在Gallup调查中表现出投入感，约三分之二劳工承受财务压力，仅14%民众相信下一代会更好。低离职率虽显示稳定，却掩盖生产力与心理层面的巨大落差。员工持股被视为缩小投入差距、提升生产率并改善财务韧性的机制，使劳工在改革全面落地前即可分享未来的财富增长。

自2022年成立以来，Ownership Works已让超过25万名员工参与，累计分配超过10亿美元，并预期随计划成熟将再分配100亿美元。日本成为全球扩张的起点，因其投资人高度兴趣、政府聚焦家庭资产累积、企业与员工长期合作传统及低离职率，有利持股效果长期复利。Bushu Pharma与Yayoi等企业的早期数据显示，员工在满意度、进步感与参与公司运作方面均有提升，显示持股能在日常工作与企业成功之间建立连结。

持股必须与透明沟通、财务教育与真实员工声音结合，才能形成可规模化的生产力杠杆。实务证据显示，它使组织聚焦于降低废品、返工与提升准时交付，且改善能持续，因为每位员工都有持续优化的激励。日本曾以前线持续改善（kaizen）引领全球，如今可再次领先，透过「资本的改善」将所有人纳入成长回圈，在改革完全发酵前确保财富广泛分享。

Japan’s corporate reforms are entering an inflection point of rising efficiency and profitability, but without deliberate design the gains could concentrate as they did in the U.S. after the 1980s, where the top 10% now hold $45 trillion in equities while the bottom half hold only $0.5 trillion. Only 7% of Japanese workers report engagement in Gallup surveys, about two-thirds experience financial stress, and only 14% believe the next generation will be better off. Low quit rates mask a productivity and psychological gap. Employee ownership is positioned as a mechanism to close these gaps, raising engagement and productivity while allowing workers to benefit before reforms fully take hold.

Since its 2022 founding, Ownership Works has enrolled over 250,000 employees, distributing more than $1 billion and expecting $10 billion as programs mature. Japan is the launch point for global expansion due to strong investor interest, government emphasis on household asset-building, traditions of long-term labor–management partnership, and low churn enabling compounding gains. Early results at firms such as Bushu Pharma and software maker Yayoi show measurable improvements in satisfaction, sense of progress and operational voice, demonstrating how ownership links daily work with company success.

Ownership must be paired with transparent communication, financial education and genuine worker voice to scale productivity improvements. Evidence shows ownership refocuses organizations on scrap, rework and on-time delivery, with durable gains because everyone is incentivized. Japan once led the world in frontline continuous improvement; it can lead again by making employee ownership its next major innovation, ensuring prosperity is widely shared before reforms fully mature.