Japanese youths becoming increasingly anxious about their future

As of December 2003, only 73.5% of university students planning to graduate this spring have received official job offers. This was 3.2% lower than the same period in the previous year, and the lowest figure ever since the current investigation method was introduced in 1996 (surveyed by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology).

The rate for high school students, meanwhile, was 61.9% as of November 2003, which, although being 1.1% higher than the same period in the previous year, was nevertheless the second lowest rate ever (according to a Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare survey).

Finding jobs continues to be extremely difficult. Under the circumstances, it is little wonder that the feelings of young people about work and the future are beginning to change.

These changes are clearly revealed in the Awareness Survey of Youths Worldwide which the Cabinet Office conducts once every 5 years and whose findings were recently compiled.

The survey asked youths aged 18 to 24 in five countries including Japan, the U.S., South Korea, Germany, and Sweden what they felt their country's chief problem to be. Sixty-five percent of Japanese youths cited difficulty in finding jobs and the high unemployment rate. The rate was 40% in the previous survey conducted in 1998, and 12% before that, in 1993. These figures show that anxieties about jobs and employment have grown rapidly among young people in the past ten years or so.

When asked to cite things that their country can feel proud of, the rate of Japanese youths citing "social stability" dropped from 26.0% to 8.5%, and when asked to cite things that directly worried or troubled them, 34% cited "obtaining employment", which was 7 percentage points higher than in the previous survey. The anxieties of young people are clearly growing.

Japan's civil law defines individuals who reach the age of 20 as "adults." The country has a national holiday known as the Coming of Age Day, celebrated on the second Monday of January, to encourage youths to realize they are now adults and fully-fledged members of society, and to live responsibly and independently.

This year, ceremonies were held throughout Japan to celebrate this day, and, like in previous years, many young people gathered, often dressed in traditional kimonos. Although they appear on the surface to be in festive mood, their hearts are often filled with worries and fears, as the above survey reveals.

Some bright prospects are finally beginning to be seen in Japan's economic outlook. However, unless we can achieve a society in which young people can play their full role in economic life, Japan's future will be bleak indeed. Resolving the issue of middle-aged and older workers' unemployment is, of course, vital. However, alleviating young people's anxieties may be a more important and urgent task.