Employment opportunities are becoming scarce in Japan, particularly for people in their 40s and 50s, according to an employment survey conducted over a six-month period this year in Tokyo.
The study, carried out by a group of Tokyo-based labor unions, shows that 35 percent of unemployed people looking for jobs in the metropolis could not find work after looking for more than six months, and 44 percent said they were willing to accept short-term employment, including part-time jobs.
"Many people say they cannot find jobs no matter how hard they look. There are increasing numbers of middle-aged and elderly job-seekers who say they will do any job," one union official in charge of the survey said.