Regarding the Jan. 17 editorial "Students feel heat of joblessness": It's very sad news to hear of the plight of new grads from Japanese universities. It is disheartening when nearly one in 12 students cannot get a job in his own country. This could lead to frustration with the higher education system and, more important, with society and government in general.
Steps being taken by the government should not stop at subsidizing employers. The first line of action is to find out why Japanese universities cannot churn out graduates who will be accepted in foreign countries.
I understand that it would not be easy for new grads to go to a different country and that it would take time to change their mindset, but we don't see the slightest effort in this direction. Neighboring countries like China, South Korea, Vietnam and, of late, India could be a good place for these grads to go if Japanese companies doing business there were to start employing a few of them.
Second, there's the problem of poor English skills. I had a chance to visit five top-notch universities in Japan some three months ago and to interact with students and teachers there. Nearly every one of the soon-to-graduate youths I met fumbled and stumbled when asked to say a few words in English. Why can't this situation be improved?
The above two lines of action would go hand in hand to reduce frustration among young Japanese. I know they have ample potential and zeal. I wish them good luck.