However, this is unlikely to end the problems of youth employment. With the Japanese economy showing signs of recovery, more companies have announced plans to hire new graduates. The Japanese government has grappled with youth employment problems since 2003. In short, a problem that had long been ignored was now recognized as something that had to be tackled. In other words, there had always existed high school dropouts who failed to make the transition to regular Japanese-style employment. Again, although this problem had existed for some time, it had not attracted society’s interest. Some interpreted this as a reflection of the severity of the labour market, while others viewed it as a failure to foster young people’s desire to acquire skills or find a profession, including the ability to interact with others. Since 2000, with increase in the number of young people who did not enter the labour market even after having left education, the term NEET (not in education, employment or training) was introduced from Great Britain. As this situation became evident, understanding of the “freeter” problem shifted from the attitudes of young people to employment difficulties. They too called themselves “freeters.” According to surveys taken in recent years, the number of those who are “freeters” in the original sense of the word occupies no more than 10-20% of all young people. Such people also referred to themselves as “freeters.” A third group consisted of young people who deferred choosing a profession because they were unsure what they wanted to do, also engaged in temporary work. However, after the recession began in the early 1990s, the number of young people who could not find permanent employment increased, and many were forced to accept temporary employment. At first the problem of “freeters” was seen as a problem concerning a shift in young people’s attitude to work. Many of these hoped eventually to become professionals in the worlds of music or the theatre and the like. The term “freeter” was first coined in the late 1980s when the economy was booming, and it originally referred to young people who refused to become permanent employees, instead engaging in temporary or part time work. At the same time, there was a great increase in the number of young people who were engaged in unstable forms of employment, such as temporary or part time work, and who are known as “freeters.” Youth Employment in Japan’s Economic Recovery: ‘Freeters’ and ‘NEETs’įollowing the onset of Japan’s economic recession in the early 1990s, the number of company positions available for prospective high school and university graduates dramatically declined, and young Japanese ceased to enjoy the favorable situation, that had long prevailed in which the great majority of job seekers were able to become permanent employees of companies.
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