KITAKYUSHU – Local and labor authorities have opened a job placement office Monday for people 50 years old and above in Kitakyushu.
The office, named Senior Hello Work Tobata, is the first public employment security office targeting the older generation in Japan, officials said.
Statistics show that the ratio of job seekers at least 45 years old was 45.5 percent across the country as of May.
“We are aiming to create a city where seniors can work. We would like to build a successful model for the vitalization of the local economy by accepting many people,” Kitakyushu Mayor Kenji Kitahashi said at the opening ceremony for the office, which is being run by the Kitakyushu Municipal Government and the labor ministry’s Fukuoka bureau.
The age-specific employment office is a product of the new strategic special zones program.
One visitor, Seigo Nakano, 65, said the facility was a boon.
“They kindly showed me how to write a resume. I hope I can land a job that I want,” he said.
