To cope with its rapidly aging society, Japan is retooling its social and economic policies, but the reality often can't live up to what's on paper. 

More than one in three Japanese is likely to be over 65 in 2050, up from about one in six in 2000, according to "Aging and Employment Policies, Japan," a 2004 report issued by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. 

According to the trends, Japan's labor force is projected to decline from 67.7 million workers in 2000 to around 45.2 million in 2050. 

Many government officials believe that boosting Japan's fertility rate would be too difficult, and that the key to meeting the challenges of the aging society is to improve labor participation by the elderly and women, as Hans Vijlbrief proposed in the Guiding Japan interview. 

The revised Law for the Stabilization of Employment of the Aged that takes effect in April 2006 will gradually hike the retirement age from the current 60 to 65 by 2013. 
But a government survey earlier this year shows that corporations are still hesitant to offer jobs to workers who are 60 or older. 

A government survey of 2,734 companies in January showed that only 21.1 percent of the companies said they would work positively to create jobs for workers up to 65 years old. 

Another 41.6 percent stated they can employ more older workers but will limit the number to the required minimum. 

Also, 31.6 percent said they would try their best but it is difficult to immediately create jobs for workers up to 65 years old. 

Hideaki Nishizawa is an official at the Department of Employment Measures for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. 

He said corporations need to change their views because they will face the reality of the declining working population after the baby-boom generation begins to retire in 2007. 

"The rise in the official retirement age is a demand of the age, and it will benefit companies to create jobs and posts for older workers in the coming decades," Nishizawa said. "Seniority wage systems or other traditional personnel management practices may need to be altered."