Amid the prolonged recession, Japanese officials are giving serious consideration to a work-sharing system that has been common in Europe for a long time. Last month, government, labor and management officials held a top-level meeting to discuss the issue under orders from Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. It was attended by Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Chikara Sakaguchi; Kiyoshi Sasamori, head of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (Rengo); and Hiroshi Okuda, chairman of the Japan Federation of Employers Associations (Nikkeiren). The officials are expected to forge an agreement on the issue by March.
Work sharing was proposed during the periods of increased unemployment and job shortages caused by economic slowdowns following the international oil crises in the 1970s and the yen's surge against the dollar in the 1980s. The idea was never implemented. Time is becoming ripe for work sharing because:
* The employment situation has deteriorated, with the nation's unemployment rate topping 5 percent, and threatens to worsen in the months ahead under Koizumi's structural reforms.