July 5, 1999

Kiyoshi SASAMORI
General Secretary
Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC-RENGO)

1. Today, the Economic Council submitted to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi its recommendation report entitled "Ideal Socioeconomy and Policies for Economic Rebirth." The latest report is equivalent to an economic plan for the next decade. But it differs from conventional "economic plans" in that specific figures such as economic growth and unemployment rates are not included. The report's main text deals chiefly with the philosophy and values concerning how a future economic society should be shaped, as well as policy plans to achieve that goal.
   The philosophy for the "ideal" socioeconomy as described by the Council's report sees the current severe recession as the end of the "optimal industrial society" which dates back to the Meiji Restoration, and calls for the building of a society based on self-supporting, independent "individuals." With the "greatest freedom and the smallest dissatisfaction" as its goal, it lists "efficiency, equality and safety" plus "freedom" as values which should serve as standards for economic decision-making, and places particular emphasis on "freedom." However, the idea of safety does not include job stability, and the thrust of the Council's report cannot help but be interpreted as a prescription for an individualistic competitive society centering on individual freedom. It is not a philosophy that can provide the Japanese people with confidence and a sense of security.
   
   
2. In the belief that the "policy plans" of the Council's report are something that can point toward the path Japan should be following to overcome the current serious recession and encourage the Japanese people to restore their confidence and sense of security, RENGO has worked with the Economic Council, by sending RENGO representatives (three full committee members and four subcommittee members) as well as participating in regional symposiums, with the goal of obtaining a people-oriented recommendation report which seeks to build an economic society with a good balance between efficiency and fairness. As a result of these efforts, RENGO was able to have its views reflected in some particular policy directions, such as measures to deal with the shrinking number of births, harmonization with the environment, and promotion of the decentralization of power. Also, a proposal for the "privatization of the salary-linked portion of the national employee pension (kosei nenkin)," which was included in a draft report, was struck out in accordance with RENGO's opinion.
   
   
3. However, the fundamental philosophy of the Council's report leaves much to be desired in heeding the interests of the working population and the socially weak in areas such as social security and stable employment. Despite the fact that Japan is in the midst of a "job crisis," the report, in its main text, fails to address concrete policy measures to cope with unemployment and create jobs. In fact, it approves of high unemployment, estimating that "the jobless rate will be somewhere between the upper half of the 3% range and the lower half of the 4% range." In the passage on "deregulation of temporary staff and job placement business," the report fails to present guidelines for establishing fair labor standards. Moreover, the safety net and other individual policy measures all lack specifics. Taken as a whole, the Council's report is very weak in measures to ensure fairness, and is problematic in many ways.
   
   
4. Future work will center on individual policy measures along the lines of the Council's report. Seeking the materialization of the principles of "confidence, affluence and social justice," RENGO will redouble its efforts toward realizing a society in which people can live with a genuine sense of security.