politics

Cabinet OKs reforms aimed at addressing Japan's labor market woes

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Under the annual economic policy blueprint, the government wants to see 300,000 new jobs created over the next three years for people in their mid-30s to mid-40s who have had difficulties finding stable employment in the years since the end of Japan's economic boom in the early 1990s.

Oh how generous....NOT, you coveniently left out all the people OLDER who got "restructured" and kicked out of their full time employment positions!

Your policies have created an economy that no longer has decent, stable, employment opportunities! Full-time employment has quickly become a thing of the past! Must be feeling guilty...at least that's how Aso looks in this picture!

11 ( +14 / -3 )

More hot air from Shin-chan & Taro-Kun. A whole lot of talking to not say anything.

11 ( +16 / -5 )

30 years too late , and as usual too little.

But Cudos there are structure reforms 100years old that need addressing so it's a shuffle forward.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

The Abe administration...to create a society in which people can live to 100 years old without experiencing financial worries.

No government can do that. It's crazy to expect the govt to do your financial planning. You gotta do it yourself.

"Japan's social security costs, currently about a third of its annual state budget..."

The strange thing about that is that WE PAY for social security out of our own pockets. It's not free like in other countries. My monthly payments are quite substantial, too. I detect something fishy.

1 ( +6 / -5 )

No government can do that. It's crazy to expect the govt to do your financial planning. You gotta do it yourself.

There is no realistic system in place NOW to achieve the obvious. Foresight (not a strong point here) 30 years ago would or could have helped, yet monetary policies have prevented people from getting even 2% or 3% interest payments on savings held in banks.

Educating an entire generation of people over the age of 60 to invest in their own retirement is impossible.

All the elderly and those soon to retire, literally trusted the government to ensure their pensions and social security after they retire. The reality is that the government has let them down and should be kicked out because of it, but the true reality is that there is no viable replacement.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

YubaruToday  07:31 am JST

The reality is that the government has let them down and should be kicked out because of it, but the true reality is that there is no viable replacement.

It's harder to disagree when the opposition parties waste their time on futile gestures like no-confidence motions which are obviously never going to be passed. If they're going to submit any motions at all they should be for better legislation than what the government is proposing. The LDP majority still wouldn't vote for it but it would at least look more like a viable alternative.

6 ( +9 / -3 )

The walking dead?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

The strange thing about that is that WE PAY for social security out of our own pockets. It's not free like in other countries. 

Ssocial Security (welfare) is not free in ANY country. The taxpayer pays for it. Much higher taxes than Japan in many countries (like EU) to pay for social security.

-4 ( +5 / -9 )

Aso looks like he is standing to say he needs his nappy changed.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

Japan introduced a new visa system in April to bring in more foreign workers, a policy incorporated in last year's blueprint.

See we take all that foreigners to work here, we gave them the opportunity to earn for a living and they take different jobs including management positions. These kind of position should be given to Japanese citizens and all the gajins should be allocated to labour hungry sectors with poor working conditions first.

But many of those affected complain the government wants to deploy them into labor-hungry sectors that have poor working conditions.

After filling up all the positions by foreigners they would have the possibility of taking the remaining management positions unless there is Japanese citizen willing to take it.

Problem would be solved quickly right?

-9 ( +1 / -10 )

Critics say the planned reforms will not succeed unless Japanese companies shake up their employment practices, including the hiring of new graduates en masse, promotion by seniority and lifetime employment.

That's the thing - the government can't or won't get companies to shake up anything. When it comes to their corporate chums they're totally toothless.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Abe & Co have launched initiatives on many many things over the years, some with a degree of success and some a degree of failure (witness the 3 Arrows of Reform - lol)

But the problem as I see it is and others have noted, all of these points may well be welcomed but they're eons late.

The aging society and all of it's associated difficulties from welfare, pensions, medical costs, care homes/workers, dementia etc has seen little done when you take into account the enormous scope of the situation. Where are the 50 year plans put into place 30 years ago when it was well documented.

Child abuse and childrens welfare has been swept under the carpet by successive ldp regimes as too much trouble to worry about - kids don't vote.

Foreigners language courses - wow how magnaminous of the ldp to start such services now - esp after decades of problems with such inefficiencies. Just incredible that chidren of foreigners dwere not compelled to attend school  - because well - they don't count.

Labour market reform - well that's soooo late that it's laughable.

They essentially have avoided responsibility and the hard choices simply to preserve their own statuses and that of their cronies.

So Abe and Co don't need any accolades because of big labour reforms or whatever, but they do need some strong reminders of "It's about time you spooners".

7 ( +8 / -1 )

The government is concerned the social security system, including the public pension system, will falter if the ice age generation is unable to find full-time work and generate sufficient tax revenue, officials said.

It faltered when you thieves stole 60 million pensions on the late noughties. No wonder then why people don't trust you or your empty words. Get rid of your racist sidekick and put fresh up to date minds in his place, and you might just save what little honor you have left.

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Belrick for example if you go to Canada as a foreigner it is said:

A positive LMIA will show that there is a need for a foreign worker to fill the job. It will also show that no Canadian worker is available to do the job. 

As you can read from this article:

The government hopes to help around 1 million people who graduated from high school and university between 1993 and 2004, collectively called the "employment ice age generation."

So obviously there are 1 million Japanese ready to work and should be taking management positions. Instead we are giving that jobs to foreigners that eventually will go back home, very few will stay here permanently which means the money that was collected for pension will eventually be returned to them. By saying so no benefit for Japan.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

@Yubaru

 "....yet monetary policies have prevented people from getting even 2% or 3% interest payments on savings held in banks."

And those same policies have also allowed them to get the most affordable mortgages in modern history. Cheap borrowing costs can help lots of people in a big way.

If those people want returns on their savings, they can easily open a NISA or other securities account, and get close to double-digit returns, a portion of which are now tax free.

Anyway, the era of high interest rates also accompanied high inflation, which ate away at people's pensions and cash savings.

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

work more but not improve working conditions or pay. Huh?

3 ( +3 / -0 )

Women want good pay. Seniors want good pay. Retirees want to ‘live’, not simply survive for their last 20+ years. We need a rebirth. Government imposed changes will add up to nothing, as the last few decades have proven.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"the government wants to see 300,000 new jobs created " although it sounds a lot of new jobs, but in reality its a drop in the ocean when it compared to the Japanese total population even if you deduct the elderly/retired, and school kids, etc.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If those people want returns on their savings, they can easily open a NISA or other securities account, and get close to double-digit returns, a portion of which are now tax free.

Learn to read an entire post. Educating the elderly here is not a priority. Just because you say it is so does not make it such.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Pls get the Japanese people, who do not work, to work at the same salaries as foreign employees and be happy. That will solve Japan major labour problems. The problems at this moment is not good working Japanese are pretending that they are working that is causing good workers to lose their jobs. esp foreign people who have worked real hard at saving Japanese firms from bankruptcies. Lip service is not work, it is just talk.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

I'm looking at that photo, and I'm thinking to myself, good grief, THESE are the people running Japan? Words that come to my mind are stale, half-dead, out-of-touch. No amount of talking and pledging is going to help. These people are in it for the money (for their own pockets). The Aso should have retired ages ago. He's like Mugabe.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

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