Japan's jobless rate rises to 4.2% in December

Can't wait until the bubble pop again >,<

More important than the unemployment rate, are its causes. Japan has an education system that allows people to get the preparation that they need to get a job, despite all the problems associated with it. According to http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/roudou/154.htm labour force went down by .9 %, so a decreasing population is clearly an important contributing factor.

I believe that more than anything, it's the high value of yen, as it increases, local production decreases. Freight costs have also to be considered and so are incentives and labour costs in other regions of the world. As you know, a new Honda plant is being built in Mexico, where 200k Fits will be made, that's 3200 jobs less in Japan. Mazda is bulding another plant there, add another 3000 jobs. That's only 2 companies in the automotive industry.

On the other side, as high yen makes exports more expensive, it's deflation rate makes things cheaper in Japan, the problem is that Japan is not buying it's own stuff, decreasing even more the price of goods, and decreasing the profits for companies.

According to statistics, in 37 years 32% of the pople you see in the street will be over 65, and that considering the trend keeps the same, otherwise you can think of even higher numbers. http://www9.ocn.ne.jp/~aslan/pfe/jpeak.htm,

Studies clearly show that Japan's population has reached its peak. That means that never in the future there will be more people than there are now. Scary.

I really believe that there won't be any other choice but to hire foreing work force, and offer incentives like good salaries, japanese courses and a good medical services.

4.2% is a statistic. One must remember that this information is gathered, on the basis of registration. They only include individuals who are on the doll for unemployment support. Once this expires you lose this status, hence de-listed. If one considers all of the individuals who are capable of work, but cannot, or are unwilling to pursue work, well the number is double, if not triple the figure stated. The government knows this.. the media knows this...

noumen.arete: What you say is true, from a business perspective, its bad. Speculative markets, especially due to the debt crisis rocking the world, only makes doing business harder, banking or otherwise. The Nuclear powerplants used to support 1/3 of the energy costs, now 93% is driven by imports, .. costs are too high, hence export:import ratio is in the red.

A significant proportion of the Japanese economy is import driven, due to the high yen, business have tried to exploit this, however now to the weakening yen, this will cause a rippling effect, just like the 3.11.11 incident wreaked havoc for the automobile industry for supplies.

Yes, Japans GDP is 60% domestic driven, however, historical fact states.. that Japan has become what it is today, through demographic and export management. Today, Japan has lost both aspects of the economy.. The only way to survive now, is to do what analysts before the 1990s bubble predicted.. another industrial boom. Green tech, high tech.. and decentralize industry to stop urban sprawl...

We need to cut down on wasteful government expenditure. depopulation is not a threat to the economy if it self-sustaining. Increase domestic agricultural production, compartmentalize villages and towns, to save on infrastructure maintenance, utilizing green tech to reduce energy costs that rely on fossil fuels.

And start signing up to FTA s.. not the TPPP... The koreans and Australians are going to shale oil 5-10 years faster then Japan.. America is going to become yet again, a exporter of energy, i think its time this nation exploited whatever opportunity it has.. it is not longer a factor of day to day business anymore.. its a matter of geo-political survival, hence survival of this land, as a nation state.

Well said noumen. I don't know the % of unemployed foreign workers as I guess it's low as the will work for less than native Jpns will, in addition the age of those unemployed a % that are not really looking for a job or can't due to age and increase further as the aging population dose, so that leaves a question if how many really want to find work for low rates of pay, or rates that leave one better off on social security benefits. By increasing foreign labor supply I would expect the wages to remain low or less for some low skill jobs and then unemployed % to increase. Also n increase in exploitation and various social problems. As seen in the past when foreign staff work until they drop. But it's just a thought.

4.2% is a number most countries would be ecstatic with. Even if a big portiion of the jobs here are casual ones, low paid, or those dudes waving light wands at us from roadworks, holes in pavement, parking lots and the like.

But, this number is not entirely accurate. This number reflects the amount of job seekers and not the actual amount of people that are not working. You could safely add another 2 or 3 percent to this number to show the actual percentage of jobless. Just another 'smoke and mirrors show' from the labor ministry.

Don`t other countries use he same calculation too though - the amount of job seekers, rather than the actual amount of people not working? I thought that was how the UK calculation was done but please correct me if I am wrong. If the numbers across the world are based on different criteria, it is impossible to make meaningul comparisons.

Do the number of "workers"also include those in the kinds of jobs Wakarimasen described? Because a significantly larger proportion of Japanese workers (about 40% I think) are in these non-secure hire-and-fire type positions compared to other countries which again makes meaningful comparison difficult.

Not sure if I am right or wrong, just trying to understand the base behind the figures

the prices are high here because people are employees to do silly jobs not had in other countries (the guy who hands you a ticket at a ticket machine for example).

Because of this unemployment is low, but prices are high. the figure is the same calculation other countries use, Japan is not washing the number to make it look good.