Japan’s internal affairs ministry will launch a so-called working holiday project in 2017, designed to bring students and young employees into rural areas to work in factories, on farms and in the tourism sector, says the Nikkei news agency. The goal is to stimulate consumption in rural areas while addressing labor shortages.
The program will be open to college students in major metropolitan areas and to young employees of corporations that believe a taste of rural life will be a valuable part of training. Each prefecture taking part in the program is expected to receive several hundred people on assignments lasting from one to four weeks, said Nikkei.
“Participants can use their days off to take in the sights or help promote local communities. They can experience the charm of places otherwise inaccessible to tourists, all without having to move,” said the news agency.