Tokyo

The Japanese government will actively hire people in the so-called employment ice age generation for national public servant positions, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday.

He made the remark at the first meeting of a public-private council to discuss support for the ice age generation in their 30s and 40s, who struggled to find jobs because they graduated after the collapse of Japan's asset bubbles in the early 1990s.

Regarding an increase in the employment of such people by local governments, Abe said, "The central government will also actively hire such people for midcareer positions from this fiscal year."

The central government plans to include steps to assist the generation in economic measures currently under consideration.

The government aims to increase the number of regular workers in the generation by 300,000 under its three-year intensive support program.

Concrete plans to employ such people for national public servant positions will be drawn up within this year, led by Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister for social security reform.

Workers in the generation have been solicited by local governments including the cities of Takarazuka, Kasai and Sanda in Hyogo Prefecture, Aichi and Wakayama prefectures, and the town of Sakai in Ibaraki Prefecture, according to the Cabinet Office.

From summer this year, it became possible for private-sector companies to post job information targeted only at people in the generation through the Hello Work public job placement offices nationwide.

The number of job openings for them stood at 377 as of the end of September.

Members of the public-private council are ministers and local government officials, as well as representatives of business and labor organizations, academia and a group to support social recluses.

At Tuesday's meeting, a local government official called for a financial support system that can be used over several years, noting the need for continued measures in order to expand employment.

Meanwhile, the group to assist social recluses sought a flexible assistance system not limited to employment.

"Support for social recluses focus too much on employment, but they need a place where they can restore their self-esteem," a group official said.

[Jiji]