Japan’s recovery is being held back by a shortage of skilled labour, a leading minister has claimed, after the world’s third-largest economy entered its fourth technical recession in five years.
Economics minister Akira Amari said a lack of workers available for public works projects worth billions of pounds restricted the government’s ability to bolster the economy.
Amari urged Japanese firms to use their record cash holdings to raise wages and increase capital spending to generate sustainable growth led by the private sector, instead of relying on government to always take the lead. He added that Tokyo was not considering a fresh stimulus.
The plea for big business to support the recovery came as official data on Monday showed Japan’s economy shrank by an annualised 0.8% in July to September after a deeper than previously estimated 0.7% contraction in the previous three months, providing the two consecutive quarters of declines needed to mark a recession.
