To be clear on that headline, a city in Japan is facing a shortage of ninja performers - so, while it's technically correct that they're looking for ninjas, they're specifically looking for people who can perform as ninjas.
The whole story was outlined in a recent episode of NPR's 'Planet Money' podcast, where it was revealed that Iga - a city in southern Japan in the Mie Prefecture - is facing a shortage of ninja performers for their annual festival. Iga is known in Japan as the birthplace of ninjas, and its mayor, Sakae Okamoto, is attempting to breathe life into the city by drawing on its heritage.
As Mayor Okamoto explained during an interview with the podcast, ninja tourism is a big draw. "For example, we hold this ninja festival between late April to around the beginning of May. During this period visitors and also local people come here. Everybody will be dressed like a ninja and walks around and enjoys themselves — but recently I feel that it's not enough," said Mayor Okamoto.
Much of the problem stems from, unbelievably, Japan's extremely low unemployment rate - which currently stands at 2.5%. That, and the fact that ninja training isn't really all that much of a draw for modern Japanese people.
While ninjas aren't expected to race across rooftops, fling shurikens at enemies or creep around pagodas at night, they can expect to earn a healthy salary of anywhere between $25,000 to $80,000 depending on their experience.
