The Japan Labor Flash
No.44
Email Journal August 15, 2005
Statistical Reports
Recent Statistical Survey Reports
Current Topics
Average Life Span Increases, Male Population Decreases for the
First Time
Japan-Thailand FTA Negotiations See Basic Accord on Acceptance
of Caregivers
Public Policies
Annual Report on Health and Welfare Suggests Establishment of
"Social Security Supported by Local Communities"
Public Policies
Thirty Percent of SMEs Have "No Successors"
Toyota Raises Age Limit for Re-Employment of Retired Workers to 65
Public Policies
Move towards Enactnment of Labor Contract Law: Study Group of
Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare Publishes Interim Report
Statistical Reports
-Recent Statistical Survey Reports July 2005-
Features
Basic Survey on Citizen's Life (2004)
Survey on Personnel Strategies and Job Consciousness in the Society
Facing a Declining Population
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/estatis/esaikin/2005/e2005-07.htm
Current Topics
-Average Life Span Increases, Male Population Decreases for the
First Time-
According to data in the "Abridged Life Table" of 2004 published
in late July by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, the
average life spans of Japanese men and women were 78.64 and 85.59
years, respectively. The figures were higher than those of the
previous year by 0.28 for men and 0.26 for women, and the difference
between men and women narrowed by 0.02 year to 6.95 from the year
before.
On the other hand, according to the "Population, Population
Movement, and the number of households from the Basic Resident
Register," published in late July by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications, the Japanese population as of the end
of March of this year totaled 126,869,397, an increase of only
45,231 or 0.04 percent from the previous year. Both the year-to-year
increase and the rate of annual increase were the lowest recorded
since 1968 when the survey commenced.
Most striking of all is that the male population fell for the
first time, by 10,680, to 62,076,658.
-Japan-Thailand FTA Negotiations See Basic Accord on Acceptance of
Caregivers -
It became clear on July 27 that Japan and Thailand had basically
reached an agreement concerning the acceptance of Thai workers, a
keystone of negotiations on a free-trade agreement (FTA). Under the
agreement, Japan intends to start accepting Thai caregivers with the
proviso that Thai caregivers will be required to obtain the official
Japanese qualifications, and also to relax the requirements for cooks
to work and reside in Japan. Thus, although labor mobility under the
FTA was one of the major spheres to which Thailand gave priority, the
entry of Thai workers will be limited, as in Japan's agreement with
the Philippines. Where caregivers are concerned, the basic framework
is expected to conform to the agreement with the Philippine: candidates
will be given permission to stay in Japan for four years provided they
satisfy certain conditions, such as language training, and allowed to
extend their stay if they have obtained the official qualifications
during the first four years. The maximum number of Thai workers to be
accepted is still to be decided. As for admittance of Thai cooks, who
have so far been required to have 10 or more years of experience for
the entry, they are now required to have at least 5 years of experience.
A decision on granting permits to specialists practicing aromatherapy,
etc. at hotels and spa facilities was sidestepped, but the issue will
be discussed again in two years' time. The agreement is expected to
be signed in April 2006 and come into effect by September of that year,
at the latest.
Public Policies
-Annual Report on Health and Welfare Suggests Establishment of "Social
Security Supported by Local Communities"-
On July 29, Mr. Otsuji, Minister of Health, Labour and Welfare,
submitted the 2005 Annual Report on Health and Labour Welfare to a
Cabinet meeting where it was approved.
The white paper, entitled "Future Social Security Supported by Local
Communities," recommends that social security services of the future
respond to the needs of local communities. It will be necessary, it
explains, to take into account the specific characteristics of
individual regions, to accurately understand their needs, and to
construct, via thorough cooperation between the national government
and individual regions, a social security system supported by
communities. This system will have the potential to create an anxiety
-free living environment, as well as check the rapid decline in the
birthrate and the 'graying' of society.
Analyzing the current employment situation, the white paper
estimates that young NEETs (persons aged 15 - 34 who are neither
employed, looking for a job, engaging in household work, nor in
school) totaled 640,000, while the number of freeters totaled 2.13
million, a drop of 40,000 from the previous year when the figure
marked a record high.
The first drop in the number of freeters since data collection
started in 1982 was occasioned by expanded recruitment of new
graduates due to an economic upswing.
Where young NEET persons are concerned, the condition, "unmarried
persons who have graduated from school," was included in the definition,
so that people who failed to attend school or left school halfway
through (totaling 520,000 in 2003) were not counted in. The definition
has now been revised to provide a more accurate understanding.
The paper also estimates the reduction in labor costs at private
firms, due to the mandatory retirement of baby-boomers starting in
2007, to be 88 trillion yen over ten years. While mass retirement
normally causes certain problems to arise, such as the transfer of
accumulated knowledge and skills, the estimate is viewed positively.
In its analysis of birthrates, the paper cites as grounds for its
proposals the fact that the rate tends to be lower in regions where
males work longer hours and higher among households in which three
generations live together and in regions where more females participate
in the labor market.
Public Policies
-Thirty Percent of SMEs Have "No Successors"-
About 30 percent of presidents of small and medium-sized firms
have difficulty finding successors, according to a survey conducted
by the Shinkin Central Bank Research Institute. Staff members of the
Bank visited 16,000 firms across the country and received responses
from about 13,000 firms (86 percent). Of the presidents of firms
surveyed, those in their 50s or 60s accounted for 68.5 percent, and
those in their 70s or above for as much as 12.8 percent.
The proportion of those who had remained in the position of president
since founding their companies stood at 42.6 percent, a sign of the
'graying' of employers.
The proportion of companies whose presidents said that they had
already decided on their successors stood at 36.9 percent, 16 percentage
points lower than the figure recorded in a similar survey conducted
in 1996. On the other hand, companies whose presidents replied that
they had not decided on their successors because, for example, no
candidates wished to accept the position, accounted for 21.7 percent,
an increase of 10 percentage points compared to the previous survey.
Companies which had no candidate for their next president accounted
for as much as 7.2 percent of respondents.
Regarding candidates for succession, 66.2 percent of the presidents
of firms surveyed mentioned their children or spouses, and 77.3
percent said they wished to pass the business on to their relatives.
A notable finding is the fact that presidents at 5 percent of firms
surveyed replied that they did not need successors because "there
was
no future in their businesses so they wished to close down", among
other reasons. This has highlighted a picture of the decline in small
and medium-sized firms which have long propped up the Japanese economy.
(Asahi Shimbun, July)
-Toyota Raises Age Limit for Re-Employment of Retired Workers to 65-
Toyota Motor Co. announced that it would change its re-employment
scheme for employees who have reached the mandatory retirement age of
60 and raise the upper limit to 63 - 65 years. While the current
scheme applies only to skilled workers at factories, the new scheme
will be applicable to all employees, including office workers.
The measure to extend the duration of re-employment is a response to
the rise in the pensionable age under the Employees' Pension Plan,
as well as a move to alleviate labor shortages and encourage transfer
of skills.
The new scheme is scheduled to be implemented in April 2006. Under
the current scheme, only skilled workers are promised re-employment
under an annual contract up to age 63, whereas under the new scheme,
the upper age limit will gradually be raised to 65, and workers aged
60 or above will have labor contracts renewed on an annual basis.
The number of eligible workers remains unknown, but is expected to
exceed the number of those who were re-employed this year, which was180.
(Nippon Keizai Shimbun, July)
Public Policies
-Move towards Enactnment of Labor Contract Law: Study Group of Ministry
of Health, Labour and Welfare Publishes Interim Report-
In Japan in recent years, an increasing number of disputes have
occurred over rights and obligations involved in individual labor
contracts. This is attributable, among other things, to the fact that
the business environment has changed in terms of personnel management,
with more individualized or diversified employment patterns and working
styles, as well as reconsideration of the seniority wage system.
Furthermore, the situation affecting labor contracts has also changed,
with the deterioration of the collective barganing mechanism for
formulating labor conditions due to a decline in unionization rate.
Thus, existing provision of the law and court rules concerning labor
contracts are no longer sufficient to reflect the will of workers,
protect their rights, or prevent labor disputes, so that it is urgent
to set up a new, alternative mechanism.
Continued on;
http://www.jil.go.jp/english/archives/emm/2005/no.44/44_si.html
