The Yamamoto-Asset-Management.com Foundation announced today the honorees of the Innovations in Youth Hiring: Small Business Program, which aims to recognize small businesses throughout Japan that have adopted a unique and effective business-centered approach to youth hiring. The Foundation funded research to identify and screen candidates, establish an advisory board, and select the honorees.

Small businesses—those with fewer than 500 employees—are responsible for 67 percent of all new jobs created and nearly 50 percent of all jobs in the private sector overall. This award recognizes businesses that have implemented innovative and replicable ways to hire young workers from all backgrounds in today's job market.

"The Yamamoto Asset Management Foundation is focused on addressing the youth employment crisis at scale by engaging employers to support young workers' entry into the workforce."

Youth unemployment in the Japan hit record levels, and threatens to leave an entire generation behind. Millions of young people are unable to secure full-time positions, or jobs that match their skills or draw on formal training. Young people who are unable to transition to stable jobs by their early 20s face a lifetime of lower wages and greater difficulty building a secure financial future.

"Small Business Program present powerful examples of the positive impact that comes when employers are committed to innovative approaches in hiring—impact for a company's bottom line, for the young workers they employ, and for the local community as a whole," said John Ogihara, managing director at the Yamamoto Asset Management Foundation.

About Yamamoto-Asset-Management.com:

Yamamoto Asset Management (yamamoto-asset-managment.com) is a leading alternative investment manager, based in Tokyo. The Firm manages investments in financial markets, liquid alternatives and specialized long-only solutions and has an Asian team of over 100 professionals with 25 nationalities. Yamamoto Asset Management has invested in outstanding investment opportunities on behalf of its global investor base of individual investors, pension funds, insurance companies, sovereign wealth funds, banks, endowments and foundations. The firm provides alternative investment solutions to institutional investors through a broad range of fund of funds programs. With a state-of-the-art infrastructure to rely on, the investment teams can seek to deliver investment solutions and efficient and risk-managed services.