The Japan Journal

The « 2007 problem » is upon us. This is the year that millions of workers – the oldest of Japan’s baby boomers – turn sixty and start retiring en masse. With some pointing to a shortage of personnel brought on by the country’s prolonged economic slump, the manufacturing industry, or to put it another way the world of monodzukri (the art of manufacturing and craftsmanship), is faced with an urgent need to address the issue of hitozukuri (human development). As Japan works towards this goal, its colleges of technology, or kosen for short, are set to play an increasingly important role in terms of producing outstanding human resources for the monodzukuri industry, as they have done consistently ever since the country’s economic boom. In this month’s Cover Story, we take a look at human development for a new era, centered on Japan’s kosen.