In a move to get more Japanese officials into senior positions at international organizations, the Foreign Ministry is soliciting recruits from the private sector, including middle-aged and older workers, and shouldering their travel expenses and salaries.
Under the recently announced plan, civil service applicants with experience supporting developing countries are being sought as candidates to work in the United Nations and other international entities, with an eye to nurturing their ascent.
Unlike the ministry's junior professional officer system, which targets people 35 or younger, the new recruitment scheme has no age limit.
The government hopes to strengthen Japan's sway by demonstrating that more Japanese are involved in international organizations.
While Japan is the second-largest donor to the United Nations after the United States, the number of Japanese working at U.N.-related organizations is limited.
For the first round of recruitment, the government is soliciting applicants to work at the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Organization for Migration.
Applicants must have from five to nine years of experience working in the relevant areas as well as English proficiency. The deadline is Jan. 3.
The Foreign Ministry will hold the initial screenings but the final selections will be made by the relevant organizations.
According to the Foreign Ministry's data, 820 Japanese nationals were working for U.N.-related organizations as public servants as of the end of 2016. Of these, only 77 were senior officials.