Japan has not talked casually about the issue of 'lifelong work'. Recently, there was a one minute mobile video recording the training of a Japanese company for employees over the age of 65. In a closed conference room, the silver haired elderly learned workplace etiquette in batches, stopped for a second before sitting and bowed at an angle. The host held up the microphone and said, 'life is not retirement, the ideal should be to work all your life'. This video was widely spread on the Internet.
People feel that once they reach the age of 60, retirement is a matter of course. When the long career comes to an end, life should enter another rhythm. But in Japan, this is not the norm.
If you have the opportunity to stand on the streets of Tokyo during the rush hour, you will have a deep understanding of this phenomenon. In the crowd dressed in formal clothes and walking in a hurry, old people with silver hair occasionally appear. They looked clean, old and slightly bent. But the briefcase and formal clothes remind observers that they are still people in the workplace.
The severe aging phenomenon is nothing new in Japan. According to the population estimation data released by Japan's Ministry of general affairs, as of September 15 this year, Japan's elderly over 65 increased by 320000 over the previous year to 35.88 million, a record high, accounting for 28.4% of the total population.
As the object of Japan's "later medical system for the elderly", the population over the age of 75 increased by 530000 to 18.48 million. It accounts for 14.7% of the total population, which is about one in seven people over the age of 75.
A series of financial burden and labor gap problems caused by the huge elderly group are dragging Japanese society into long-term anxiety, and 'silver haired office workers' have become the norm. It is understood that in 2017, the employment of the elderly in Japan increased by 5% to 8.07 million, accounting for 12.4% of the total employment. At the same time, it also became the rise of the employment index of the elderly in Japan for 14 consecutive years.
In June this year, the Japanese government announced that it would amend the current employment stability law for the elderly, requiring enterprises to take measures so that the elderly who are willing to work can work until the age of 70.
In addition to abolishing the original retirement system and delaying the retirement age, the Japanese government plans to require enterprises to implement measures such as supporting elderly employees to reemploy in other enterprises and helping the elderly start businesses. This means that workers in this rapidly aging country are expected to retire later than workers anywhere in the world.
Supporters believe that keeping people in the workforce will promote the economy and save money for Japan's stretched social security system. The head of a security company in Lichuan, Tokyo, said that hiring a large number of people who are over the retirement age but are healthy and willing to continue working will alleviate the shortage of employees.
He said, 'security work is a job to deal with people, which is very suitable for the elderly with rich life experience. If the state passes the law that people can work at the age of 70, it will attract more elderly people to join us. "
In addition, Japan is also importing new labor force into the shrinking job market by relaxing the employment restrictions of foreigners in Japan. According to the Japan economic news network, the revised Japanese law on entry and exit management, which has set up a new residence qualification 'specific skills', officially came into force on April 1 this year. Japan targets 14 industries with serious talent shortage, and allows foreigners with certain skills and Japanese ability to work in Japan. It is expected to accept up to 47000 foreign workers in the first year of implementation, with a total of about 345000 people in five years.