An education ministry panel proposed Wednesday a system to encourage children to begin thinking about possible careers at an early age.
That encourages children to develop an interest in possible careers they might want to pursue, in order to curtail the high unemployment rate among youths.
Career education should begin at elementary level, between ages 7 and 12, the panel said in its report to the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Ministry.
Such education has been in place in the United States since the 1970s, it said. The panel's proposal is intended to help curb the high youth unemployment rate in Japan.
It also proposed that the government train specialist teachers to handle such education. The ministry will use the report to compile a guidebook by March 2005 that will be distributed to schools nationwide.
The ministry will establish a model area in each prefecture to study the coherence of teaching from elementary school to high school, and promote cooperation between schools and local industries.
The report says the current education system does not encourage students to think about the meaning of labor, and urges the ministry to spark interest some interest in students about potential careers.