Tokyo

Japan’s parliament enacted legislation on Wednesday to create business cooperatives for securing workers in local communities with dwindling populations.

The House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament, passed the community revitalization promotion legislation by a majority vote at a plenary meeting, with support from all parties except for the Japanese Communist Party.

Under the legislation, business cooperatives will be set up with investment from local people engaged in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, transport service providers, nursing care service operators and others.

Such cooperatives, authorized by prefectural governors, are expected to employ mainly young people who return to their hometowns, move to local areas away from their hometowns or live in areas close to their hometowns.

By only notifying the labor minister, the cooperatives will be allowed to dispatch such workers to member business operators facing labor shortages.

Jiji Press