Toyota Motor Corp. starts to gradually raise the ceiling on the age until when retirees can work under its re-employment system to 65 from the current 63, starting in fiscal 2006.

Toyota also makes the re-employment system, currently only available for factory workers, applicable to all workers to help them secure jobs following the mandatory retirement age of 60.
The step is intended to respond to the law enacted in June 2004 to help salaried workers secure income after their retirement as the government is delaying the age when they begin to receive corporate pension funds from 60 to 65. The law requires companies to raise the mandatory retirement age to 65, adopt a re-employment system under which retirees can work until they turn 65, or scrap the mandatory retirement system itself.
Toyota's step is also designed to cope with the so-called ''2007 crisis.'' A large number of baby boomers will begin to reach retirement age in 2007, raising concerns that Japan may face a serious shortage of a labor force with full expertise and know-how.
Toyota's workforce totals some 65,000 on an unconsolidated basis. From fiscal 2007, the annual number of its retirees is expected to substantially surpass the current 800-1,000.