in Taiwan, as many people of the same generation speak Japanese, and Taiwan is generally friendly toward Japan," he said.
The shortage of skilled engineers comes at a time when Asian economies are pouring vast sums into research and development in response to growing global competition.
Statistically, it remains unclear whether Japanese seniors are increasingly landing jobs overseas after retiring. But a recent survey at least suggests more soon-to-be-retired and early retirees would like to take on new career challenges.
According to a survey last year by Pasona Inc., Japan's largest employment agency, about 50 out of some 100 Japanese respondents in their 50s are reluctant to continue on at their current employers when they reach the mandatory retirement age or even earlier. They say they would instead like to work at a different company and experience something new.
About 20 of the respondents said they would like to contribute to society instead of to a company, and of those who want to work after retiring, about seven consider that a source of motivation.
Kazumitsu Nakamura, 63, a senior adviser for Hitachi High-Technologies Taiwan Corp., is one of them.
The veteran developer of semiconductor manufacturing equipment said he took on a new challenge in Taiwan after he quit the Hitachi parent at age 50.
After taking up various other jobs, including one in Britain, he assumed his current post of senior adviser in 2005, training future generations of engineers.
"I used to contribute to a company as a corporate warrior, but I wanted to contribute to society by passing my skills and experiences on to future generations," Nakamura said when he took part in the Taiwan career fair as a guest speaker. "I wanted to lead a different life from others who just stay and work in Japan."
Experts familiar with Asia's labor markets say employers outside Japan want to take advantage of Japanese engineers' unbeatable work ethic and attention to detail, factors credited with bringing about Japan's postwar manufacturing prominence.
Xu Yan, president of Dalian, China-based telecommunications firm TongHua Technology Co., which helped the city organize its first-ever career forum in Tokyo in late November, said China is seeking advisers to train and supervise software engineers, manage projects and oversee quality control. Engineers themselves are also being sought.
Despite the large pool of human resources in China, Xu said local labor cannot keep up with growing demand from Japanese firms -- which have increasingly outsourced their operations to China in recent years.
He said China is short on factory production control and quality management skills -- qualities Japanese baby boomers have nurtured through their career. "No matter how such technology develops, management skills do not change so much. This is what we search for," he said.
This is a good opportunity for veteran workers interested in new and flexible career venues.
They can also achieve a sense of pride as their new employers value and need their knowledge and opinions, experts say.
Elderly workers are also sought after by Japanese firms trying to cut back on manpower costs at their offshore operations in Asia.
Japanese companies that used to send their employees to supervise operations in China, for example, are starting to bring them back home due to the rising cost of living in China, according to Kanji Fukuda, leader of global business at Meitec Corp., a major re-employment service provider that specializes in engineers.
The companies are instead starting to locally hire Japanese retirees with management and supervisory skills who get roughly half the pay of the employees dispatched from the parent firms, Fukuda said.
Masaru Nagata, 55, is satisfied with his new job as president of a Meitec affiliate in China's Zhejiang Province because he feels he is needed.
The company gives on-the-job training to young Chinese engineers and offers them jobs based on their performance.
He acknowledges that he has had a hard time adjusting to the new environment, but he feels he is helping the Chinese economy grow by fostering young professionals.
"What is the big difference between Japan and China? I feel the people and country itself have a future, and it is full of vitality for tomorrow," he said, adding that while in Japan he felt stuck in a salaried worker rut.
"I asked myself over and over whether I should continue working until retirement or find another life," he recalled. "I am supporting young Chinese who shoulder their country's future economic growth. It is all the world to me to see them grow into professionals in global competition with my help."
Meitec said the company may dispatch up to 20 elderly Japanese to China as senior executives and presidents of local firms in this business year to March.
The company estimates the number will double next year as demand from Japanese companies in China grows and retirements kick in this year.
Xu of TongHua Technology said the career forum held in November by Dalian drew about 300 participants, more than half of whom were in their 50s and over.
Nakamura of Hitachi's Taiwan unit said that human resource exchanges with Japan's Asian neighbors will help the long-term competitiveness of Japanese industries.
"From now on, I think it will be difficult for Japan to compete alone with the United States, the European Union and Russia in terms of high-tech skills. Therefore, I believe we need to establish a trusting a relationship and a win-win relationship with our Asian neighbors as a team," Nakamura said.
Experts doubt, however, whether skilled Japanese retirees would be willing to relocate elsewhere in Asia in large numbers, given the difficulty of adapting to local cultures and societies.
They also say Japanese baby boomers might feel uncomfortable amid Japan's thorny relations with China and South Korea over wartime historical issues and other disputes.
For his part, Nakamura said he is happy with his new life in Taiwan. "When I tried to pay money on the bus, I found that I didn't have any coins. But a person with a smile paid the fare for me. I don't think that would happen in Japan."
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