Current Status and Challenges of Elderly Employment in Japan under a Tight Labor Market

Abstract

　Recently, the employment rate among older adults in Japan has increased. This phenomenon can be attributed to the development of pension policies and policies to promote elderly employment, which have been implemented to respond to the aging population in a tight labor market. This study aimed to explore these policy developments and to examine the extant literature discussing their impacts. It focused on the following two aspects : “human resource mobility around retirement age” and “continued employment after retirement age.” Scholars have argued that the employment of other age groups has been negatively affected as a result of the progression of elderly employment. This study reviewed the results of research on how elderly employment affects employment in other age groups. Based on the findings, this study clarified the requirements for elderly employment in the future. Effective strategies to address the current policy challenges of securing employment up to the age of 70 years as well as the areas of improvement and key points are discussed.