Japan is looking to the Netherlands, which has successfully implemented a number of work sharing programs, for ways to deal with its record levels of unemployment.

Toshihisa Nagasaka, author of "Dutch Model" and a professor of international development at Takushoku University in Tokyo, said the Netherlands' equal treatment of part- and full-time workers is one of the key elements behind its success in reducing unemployment.

"That measure has led to the spread of work sharing in the Netherlands," said Nagasaka, who served as the head of JETRO's Amsterdam office between 1993 and 1997.