Since its establishment in 1947, Japan's Ministry of Labour has pursued the goals of securing employment and promoting worker welfare as well as contributing to economic expansion and the stability of national life. During this period the Japanese economy has achieved remarkable development and the country has come to occupy an important position in the international community.However, recently the Japanese economy has experienced recessionary conditions and the employment environment has been hit by hard times, with total unemployment at over 4%.
Meanwhile, the medium- to long-term outlook indicates that the Japanese economy is changing drastically. For example, there is an increasing trend toward borderless economic activity, and the move toward fewer children per household as well as the aging population are proceeding at the highest rates in the world. Under such conditions, there is an increasing diversification of lifestyles, in addition to which occupations and the conventional employment structure are also changing.
To achieve a society in which individuals can work comfortably, confident of a stable environment, the Ministry of Labour is actively promoting the following priority measures for FY1999:
