A n announcement at the Foreign Ministry last week that Japan and Ireland have agreed to let their young people work part-time in each other's countries for up to a year was a reminder of how much benefit flows from the little-mentioned but widely utilized "working holiday program."
With this new partnership, Japan now participates in reciprocal working holiday visa schemes with eight countries. The first agreement was struck with Australia almost 26 years ago, and the purpose was straightforward: to enable young Japanese and Australians between the ages of 18 and 25 (and in exceptional cases 30) to experience more of each other's cultures than would be possible if they couldn't keep themselves afloat financially with casual jobs.
Similar partnerships have since been established with New Zealand, Canada, South Korea, France, Germany and Britain.