Behind the scenes of 24/7 service: The realities of 'owning' a Japanese convenience store

A familiar orange and green signboard glares in the pitch-dark, quiet street in a residential area. There, the owner of a 7-Eleven franchise store located in the suburbs of a small city in the Chubu region works the night shift every day by himself.

The owner, in his 40s, said he works 500 hours a month. He consulted with the Labor Standards Inspection Office, only to be told that it doesn't deal with complaints from owners.