Abstract: Employment is the foundation of peoples livelihood, and youth employment is a top priority for countries around the world. To adapt to the recent transformation of industrial structures and new circumstances in the youth labor market, the Japanese government has introduced a youth employment policy centered on the “Society in Which All 100 Million People Can Play an Active Role” initiative as the core stimulus for youth employment. Drawing on policy tools theory, this study constructs a two-dimensional analytical framework of “policy tools-policy goals” and conducts a textual analysis of 128 youth employment policy documents issued between 2020 and 2025 by the central government and by prefectural governments in Japan. The findings indicate that Japans youth employment policies have provided a certain degree of support in addressing the current difficulties faced by young people in the labor market, while also revealing clear governmental preferences in the selection of policy goals and the use of policy tools. Overall, Japans youth employment policy tends more toward “adjustment” aimed at addressing pressing, short-term problems than toward “transformation” designed to facilitate industrial upgrading and structural change.

Key words: policy tools, Japan, youth employment, employment policy