TOKYO http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-joe-nieuwendyk-jersey , Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- Japanese politicians have recently expressed growing concern about the rising numbers of a section of society aged roughly between 15 and 34 known both in Japan and globally by the acronym NEET (Not In Education, Employment or Training), as the government desperately tries to reboot the employment market as part of its bid to yank the world's third- largest economy out of recession and back on a recovery path.
As a recent report released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showed, there are currently an estimated 630,000 NEETs spanning the country, which is almost 2.5 percent of people in that age demographic, but while the figure has increased by around 40 http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-jaromir-jagr-jersey ,000 young people each year over the past decade, private organizations believe that the contemporary figures are actually far higher, exceeding 1.5 million people.
Government reports have designated NEETs as being those who typically reject conventional models of society and adulthood in general. Whereas they've seen generations above them join escalator systems transporting them through various stages of education and delivering them automatically into the workplace to become"salarymen"or to seek further education to obtain more skills, or higher education to become more marketable to companies, for them, the NEETs, following such social constructs goes against the grain.
Keiko Gono, a prominent Tokyo-based sociologist http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-jarome-iginla-jersey , explained that in the past Japan was known for its system of"lifetime employment" meaning that essentially when an individual joined a company, they would spend their entire working days there, with their annual salary expanding yearly along with their bi-annual bonuses, and when they turn 60, they would end their career with a princely retirement package and enough money in the bank to see out their lives comfortably. "But then Japan's economic bubble burst and suddenly life for many people became a lot harder. Investments were lost, regular salaries and bonuses were cut and a lot of restructuring in business began to happen,"Gono told Xinhua in a recent interview. "Essentially this meant that rather than firing someone, a worker considered inefficient in their company would be moved to a different department perhaps with a stricter manager http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-gary-roberts-jersey , sometimes to a different office, or even to a different part of the country, with previous privileges removed and certain incentives cut." "In some instances, power harassment in the work place in order to get them to quit of their own volition, so the companies didn' t have to pay redundancy money would occur, or measly early retirement packages were offered, so the individual could leave the company with a modicum of dignity and look for irregular employment."
She went on to say that for the first generation of NEETs, the "job for life" incentive all of a sudden didn't exist and the workforce http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-freddie-hamilton-jersey , due to globalization was becoming increasingly competitive and those who couldn't, for whatever reasons, compete, be it due to educational qualifications or lack thereof, or for social or psychological reasons, opted to abstain from working or training, as the nation's peripheral labor force, comprising construction work and the like http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-eddie-lack-jersey , as well as part-time jobs in the retail industry, offered limited security or stability, low pay and grueling work and schedules. "NEETs are believed by many, including some politicians, to be freeloading wasters, who are simply lazy and don't want to work for a living and contribute to society, and while for some this may indeed be the case, the phenomenon as it exists today http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-dougie-hamilton-jersey , is far more complex,"Gono explained.
Tomo Morioka, 28, apart from a few part-time jobs in convenience stores, has never, since leaving education, been in gainful employment and survives through state benefits when he can receive them, but largely from handouts from his parents and other relatives. He lives in a single studio-type apartment on the outskirts of the Shinagawa district of central Tokyo and is wholly unapologetic about his situation. "Yes http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-doug-gilmour-jersey , I'm a NEET if that's what you want to call me and yes I' m a financial drain on my family and society to an extent. But if you were to ask me if I am to blame for my situation, I would have to answer a resounding no," Morioka told Xinhua. "I dropped out of university because I quickly realized that the Japanese education system is a complete waste of time and I was learning nothing that would prepare me or aid me to live anything approaching a worthwhile existence once I graduated,"he said, declining to mention the name of the university, although intimating it was a notable one. "In senior high school we spend the entire time cramming to pass this ridiculously difficult standardized test to enter a certain university. The test has nothing to do with the major we want to study and once we're in university it's like being in kindergarten again -- students spend more time and effort on their club and sports activities than they do on their studies, as graduating is basically automatic and job hunting is just a numbers game -- you interview at as many companies as you can, even if the industry has nothing to do with your major or your interests http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-daniel-pribyl-jersey , and accept the first semi-decent offer that's made. And that becomes your life." "That's no life at all. I'd rather be jobless and homeless, which I kind of am," Morioka said.
Morioka had a few choice words to say about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the direction he has led the country in both economically and politically and said that, "If I were to find a job, and I could tomorrow, as it's not as if I'm stupid, why would I want my taxes to support a corrupt government that has no interest in taking care of its own people? For decades, the government has overspent and put the country in debt and now by raising taxes http://www.calgaryflamesteamstore.com/adidas-curtis-lazar-jersey , we're supposed to pick up the pieces with lower incomes and higher prices? It's disgusting,"Mo