Overview
To solve the labor shortage problem caused by a declining birthrate, the Japanese government has paid much attention to introducing foreign human resources and technological progress, which have been listed as important issues to achieve the aim of Society 5.0. Immigrant laborers may contribute greatly to reducing a labor shortage in the host country; while labor-saving technologies are also important, especially in the case of unexpected immigration restrictions such as with the current COVID-19 shock. This project will examine the impacts of immigrant laborers on Japanese enterprises, industries, and employment as well as issues related to policies on receiving low-skilled immigrants, human resource management of foreigner IT engineers, overseas Japanese learners' working intentions and domestic Japanese enterprises' recruiting intentions, and immigrant females' decisions related to labor participation, marriage, and child-birth. Further, to compare with the impact of immigrants, this project will examine several issues related to the impact of technological progress on employment in Japan. Finally, policy implications of the project aim to provide empirical evidence for policy making to solve the labor shortage in Japan.
September 1, 2020 - August 31, 2023
