September 22, 1999

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

RENGO can understand the critical mind of this final report, which proposes policies to answer calls to stimulate small businesses, the main backbone of Japan's economy.

However, the philosophy of these proposed policies point only to positive aspects of small business, and claim this sector is not weak economically. It does not take into account that management among small businesses is fragile and varied. Countermeasures need to be able to give an equal opportunity and be flexible to structural changes, and they need to be precise.

The report suggests small businesses fix themselves to promote the economic metabolism as on of the players in a free trade economy.
However, the fact is small businesses always face unfair dealing limits and work typically as subcontractors. Even though the report realizes that the larger-scale retailers abuse their superior position to invade the benefits of the small business, there are no concrete proposals to improve the situation. Existing laws do not solve the problems. What we need is to change the law urgently, for example to introduce the penalty for the offenders of the law who delay payments to subcontractors and to propose services which can deal with the existing law.

RENGO was working on proposals for should-be countermeasures to support the small business.

The council will send the revised idea for the basic law for the small business and the law to support and related matters for the small business to the extra session of the Diet in this coming fall based of its final report. RENGO will work on passing the law for the small business and related matters which will create jobs by stimulating small businesses. We will work with the Democratic Party and also other parties toward revitalization measures in this extra Diet session which mainly addresses the small businesses.

Especially, RENGO will work on to improve the working condition in the small business and proceed actively to build the society prior not to the business and industry but to human.