Hiring Up for New Grads
This is encouraging news: some 88% of new grads have already found jobs. The most telling statistic was that 98% of male graduates at vocational high schools found jobs.

Interestingly, the retirement of the baby boomers is cited as a reason for the strong hiring. As we've noted often before, the baby-boom generation is a short blip on Japan's demographic charts. But it's likely to have some significant effects on the economy for the next three years.

The high unemployment rate among Japan's young people in recent years mostly reflects the stagnant economy. But as with other affluent young people around the world, it appears that Japan's students are less interested in technical careers, and thereby have fewer skills employers really want and are ready to pay for. Those willing to train themselves for what the economy needs now seem to be finding jobs.