Human Resources

October 2004

The government will project a job training initiative for young people in which vouchers would be directly distributed to those seeking assistance, enabling them to choose programs depending on needs. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of the 15- to 24-year-old segment was 9.6% in August, twice the overall rate of 4.8%. In addition to youths who move from one part-time job to another, increasing numbers are not seeking for jobs, or going to school. Given that they are not gaining the expertise accumulated from working at the same job, there is concern that this tendency will lead to a decline in industry's competitiveness in the future. While job training facilities receive aid under the current system, the voucher program is designed to promote competition among them, thus improving the quality of services. The Cabinet Office and the Labor Ministry have established a nine-member research committee with academics and other experts to study the voucher system. In addition to addressing issues for implementation, the committee will study existing programs in Europe and the U.S., where the system is being used in the education, child care and nursing care segments. The voucher system would be used to pay entrance and tuition fees for private-sector vocational and specialized schools, as well as public job training schools. The facilities providing job training services would receive subsidies from the government in exchange for the vouchers. The government seeks to boost competition among the programs to provide services sought by participants. The Ministry of Finance and others argue that the policy amounts to a government handout program. Effective means of distributing the vouchers, such as coupling them with job consultation and instruction, is likely to be among the issues discussed by the research committee. (October 11, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun)

The Ministry of Labor will tackle decline in working population, by drawing up a package designed to create more job opportunities for seniors, women and young people. The ministry plans to set a goal of creating 3 million jobs to help offset the loss of 3.7 million jobs projected for the period between 2007 and 2015. The job losses will mainly result from the retirement of the first generation of baby boomers who were born between 1947 and 1949 and are due to turn 60, the compulsory retirement age for most Japanese workers, in 2007. Without measures to prevent a decline in jobs, Japan's working population will drop from slightly less than current 67 million to 63 million by 2015. Ministry is concerned that this would hinder the country's economic growth and industrial competitiveness. The study group of experts and academicians on employment policy will start looking into the problem and lay out basic guidelines by May 2005. The guidelines will focus on steps designed to help seniors continue working after 60. The Diet recently enacted a law obligating Japanese companies to phase in measures that will keep employees on the payroll until 65. The law has no binding power. The study group will draw up proposals to enable women with small children stay in the work force and help young people acquire vocational skills to find jobs easier. (October 6, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun)