Japanese gov't works out 1st set of measures to boost employment+

TOKYO, Oct. 23 Kyodo -
Japan's new government worked out a set of measures Friday to help unemployed
and hard-pressed people find jobs and shelter, as well as other support
measures, expecting about 100,000 people to benefit from them by the end of
March 2010.

The measures, which include help for university students graduating next
spring, were laid out by the government's emergency task force set up Oct. 16
to tackle Japan's severe unemployment situation.
With the steps, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government, launched Sept. 16,
aims to help people in search of jobs live a more stable life so they do not
have to go through the hardships experienced by laid-off workers and homeless
people during the New Year's holidays, said members of the task force.
To bankroll the steps, the government will use funds allocated for emergency
employment and other related measures by the previous government led by the
Liberal Democratic Party, they said.
Specifically, the government led by Hatoyama's Democratic Party of Japan will
cooperate with municipalities to offer comprehensive services at one location
to help the unemployed land jobs and ensure shelter and other basic support.
It will try out the services in Tokyo, Osaka and other places sometime in late
November with an eye toward offering them on a regular basis, they said.
''Politicians will take a leadership role in drafting the plans and even
implementing them'' in line with the Hatoyama government's policy of having
politicians take the initiative in policymaking rather than central
bureaucrats, Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan said at a press conference after
the task force's meeting.
Kan, also minister in charge of economic and fiscal policy and national
strategy, serves as the acting head of the task force.
Giving a briefing about the measures, Parliamentary Secretary of Health, Labor
and Welfare Kazunori Yamanoi has said providing such comprehensive services
concerning various government agencies and local authorities has been made
possible due to the politician-oriented policy.
Providing such cross-sectional services had been ''a significant challenge''
for the LDP-led government, which depended on bureaucrats, said the DPJ
lawmaker who has been appointed to lead the emergency action team formed to
implement the measures.
The government will also help prospective college graduates land stable jobs,
increasing consultation support counters and expanding special consultants at
public job placement offices.
Among other measures, it will help struggling small and mid-size firms maintain
and expand employment by beefing up internship programs and matching services.
The government will promote programs under which workers, especially in the
areas of nursing care, and farming, fisheries and forestry, can receive
training and obtain qualifications for free while working.
The government expects that a total of 100,000 people will be able to benefit
from these measures, by either receiving vocational training or landing jobs,
the members said.
Japan's unemployment rate remains at a historic high. The figure for August was
5.5 percent after hitting an all-time high of 5.7 percent the previous month.
Last New Year's Eve, volunteers set up a tent village in central Tokyo to
provide free food and shelter for homeless people and laid-off temporary
workers forced to leave the accommodations their employers had provided.
About 500 such homeless people spent the New Year's holiday period at the
shelters.
==Kyodo
2009-10-23 23:05:08