Japanese Seamen Wanted

[kurohinge1]

[SIZE="4"]Attempt to raise Japanese numbers[/SIZE]

The transport ministry plans to offer tax breaks to shipping companies which drastically increase the percentage of Japanese crew on their ships, sources said.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport aims to increase the number of Japanese crew members by about 50 percent in 10 years to secure stable maritime transportation, an integral part of the nation's trading infrastructure.

Foreign nationals account for more than 90 percent of crews of ocean-going vessels operated by Japanese companies.

This is because shipping companies sharply cut back on labor costs to survive competition with overseas rivals.

In 2005, the nation's shipping companies only employed 2,625 Japanese as crew members. Of the roughly 2,000 vessels operated by the nation's shipping companies, only 95 were registered in Japan for taxation purposes and other reasons.

The transport ministry's move was prompted by concern there would be too few people to operate ships if natural disasters, political turmoil or other emergencies flared in the home nations of non-Japanese crew members.

. . . The new system means companies would be taxed on the total tonnage the shipowner operates instead of actual profits . . . more