To stave off a looming labor shortage in Japan, it is generally agreed that more women, foreigners and elderly people will need to work here.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2007/nn20070103f3a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='167'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Japanese seniors listen to representatives of Taiwanese companies and research institutions during an October 2005 job fair in Tokyo seeking to find skilled engineers to work in Taiwan. </B> PHOTO COURTESY OF CHUNG-HUA INSTITUTION FOR ECONOMIC RESEARCH IN TAIWAN</FONT></TD> </TR> <TABLE> </PHOTO> <PARAGRAPH>However, some Japanese baby boomers born between 1947 and 1949 who are about to reach retirement age are quietly starting to find new jobs outside the country.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Some are becoming senior advisers or consultants for Chinese and Taiwanese engineers at Japanese high-tech firms' subsidiaries as well as at their Asian rivals.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Is it a good marriage?</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Some energetic baby boomers, particularly those with overseas work experience, are looking for new career opportunities after retiring. Chinese and Taiwanese high-tech firms, for their part, are in need of senior advisers and consultants to nurture future generations of engineers in the face of rising demand.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'We need about 20,000 high-tech engineers to make up for the labor shortage in semiconductors and other fields. . . . We need to learn from Japanese skilled and experienced engineers,' said Roger Z.Y. Huang, director of the Tokyo office of the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research in Taiwan, a Taiwanese governmental think tank, at an annual career forum in October organized by the Taiwanese government to look for prospective senior Japanese workers.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>'Japanese baby boomers would feel comfortable –

in Taiwan, as many people of the same generation speak Japanese, and Taiwan is generally friendly toward Japan," he said.

The shortage of skilled engineers comes at a time when Asian economies are pouring vast sums into research and development in response to growing global competition.

Statistically, it remains unclear whether Japanese seniors are increasingly landing jobs overseas after retiring. But a recent survey at least suggests more soon-to-be-retired and early retirees would like to take on new career challenges.

According to a survey last year by Pasona Inc., Japan's largest employment agency, about 50 out of some 100 Japanese respondents in their 50s are reluctant to continue on at their current employers when they reach the mandatory retirement age or even earlier. They say they would instead like to work at a different company and experience something new.