The government set up an ad hoc panel to discuss support measures targeting the “employment ice age generation” on Friday — a move seen by some as an attempt to respond to the opposition and appeal to voters in an upcoming election.
In the panel’s first meeting on Friday, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba pledged steady government support to improve employment and retirement conditions, and facilitate social participation for this generation, widely defined as the group of people who graduated from high school or university between 1993 and 2004 and struggled to secure stable employment due to a significant economic downturn around the time of their graduation.
“Continuously providing appropriate and effective assistance to meet the needs of the employment ice age generation is an issue that can no longer be postponed,” he said, underscoring the results obtained by previous administrations in the realm of employment support.
