One reason operating costs are so high in Japan is that the white collar jobs are only available in the metro areas like Tokyo. Outside of the metro areas, the cost of living is much lower, probably never as cheap as living in Thailand. If the companies would set up these call centers in the outlying areas, they would get access to unique Japanese talent, without leaving the country.
I think this kind of talent drain is going to cause problems for an island country whose only real resource is people. I wonder if the government has any real long term planning... /me smack head. Oh that's right, Japan has had 5 different prime ministers in the past 5 years.
I see this as a step in a transition that will likely lead to what you are suggesting, the costs even in the places cited by the article will start to rise and then rural Japan will become a too obvious choice to be ignored.
Something similar is starting to happen in IT for India/east europe/etc... , just don't ask me how much time it will take...
I tend to think the problem is related to whomever is assigning CEO-style positions to short-term thinkers. The sort of leaders that will bend to the will of shareholders, even if it disables or destroys an organisation in the long-term.
The problem is a mix of 'tradition über alles' and a culture that virtually reinforces top-down management.
In Japan, you simply Do Not Question the people above you, and those people Do Not Question the culture that's been handed down to them from whoever ran the company last.
I think this kind of talent drain is going to cause problems for an island country whose only real resource is people. I wonder if the government has any real long term planning... /me smack head. Oh that's right, Japan has had 5 different prime ministers in the past 5 years.