Page 5 - 201908G20Entrepreneurship Newsletter

Japan: Youth Job Support Program to Cover Unemployed Japanese up to 50 Years Old

The Japanese Ministry of Labor has decided to expand the scope of not trying to find a job, the ministry plans to have support station
its youth job support initiative to cover people up to age 50 to cope staff members visit and encourage them to look for work, in
with an increase in middle-aged people out of work, according to cooperation with local welfare offices, and social workers.
informed sources. Currently, the ministry provides people not in
school and aged less than 40 with comprehensive employment The sources also said clinical psychotherapists and experienced
support, including consultations, work experience programs and social case workers will be positioned at support stations taking
job interview training at 177 support stations nationwide. care of the needy because these people may have psychological
problems, including loss of confidence. For those who move
According to the sources, all support stations, which are operated forward to seek employment, the ministry will cooperate with
by nonprofit organizations and other parties commissioned by HelloWork public job placement offices and businesses across
the ministry, will offer advice to jobless people up to around 50 the country to provide a variety of work opportunities, such as jobs
years old starting next April. The ministry will also set up 12 "one- with reduced working hours, hoping that they will eventually win
stop" support stations that will also help needy people make a regular jobs, the sources said.
living and find a place to live. For middle-aged people who are

Germany: Reframed Industrial Strategy 2030 will Focus on SMEs
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German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier had developed "ZIM"（Zentrales
Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand）, a strategy for the "Mittelstand" or small and medium-sized
enterprises. "In the eyes of foreigners, SMEs are Germany's secret weapon and, unlike the Dax 30
companies, SMEs are proving to be extremely robust," wrote by Altmaier in a 13-point paper seen
by Handelsblatt. The minister also sought to reframe his controversial Industrial Strategy 2030 to
ensure that it would focus expressly on the importance of SMEs. The minister said that he want to
strengthen Germany as a business location in the face of international tax competition. This could
be achieved through measures including tax incentives for research, especially for SMEs, and better
tax conditions for digital innovation goods. Back in February, Altmaier presented the industrial
strategy 2030 which seeks to make Germany's industry more competitive internationally.
The Federation of German Industries (BDI) and the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and
Industry had criticized that family businesses and SMEs were not properly accounted for in the strategy.
Industries had been calling for better conditions for SMEs in Germany for a long time. In June, the BDI
and the Confederation of German Employers' Associations called for a national governmental strategy
to support SMEs, including limiting energy costs for SMEs. The two associations also called on the
government to reduce taxes for SMEs, noting it was "high time" to reform corporate tax law in order to
reduce the financial burdens on SMEs to a maximum of 25 percent.