RENGO organized a central panel meeting from 17 to 18 June in Atami-city, where more than 700 members from its affiliates and local structure discussed a proposal for RENGO's policy/institution advises. The Central Committee, which will meet on 29 June, will endorse the proposal and then actions will be taken to realise it.

The meeting started with Mr. Washio, President of RENGO, saying that the government should fulfil its responsibility to overcome the Crisis. He continued criticising misjudged policies of the Obuchi's administration, including its demand-stimulating policy which was only intended to meet quantitative need, but was not well focused on what would be really necessary to easy the anxiety among the people. "Such policies can not help the Japanese economy recover from the worst situation characterized by the unemployment rate of 4.8%. He also commented incisively on an urgent employment measure introduced by the government on 11 June and criticised that it did not indicate precise amount of budget needed and the target date by which it should be completed. Looking back at the past twelve months, he analysed that the government had not made sufficient progress in accomplishing of one-million-job creation, economic recovery, reliable social security and establishment of fair work rules, although RENGO had accumulated five requests directly submitted to the Prime Minister. He touched upon difficulties in realising RENGO's counterproposals and increasing its influence through political parties. He insisted that RENGO should continue making effort to realise a political force that could take the place of the Liberal Democratic Party. He concluded, "RENGO should be patient to small discrepancies among the opposition parties. It is now time for us to expect that there will be in near future a strong political force thinking in the same way as RENGO does."

Mr. Tokumoto, Chairperson of the RENGO Policies Committee, made a key address. "In order to realise a highly developed welfare society, it is important to create a sense of security by enhancing social safety nets."

On the second day, Professor Tachibanaki of Kyoto University gave a lecture entitled "Japan's economic differentials and future economic policies and challenges" and proved that Japan had become a society of inequality like a Western country.

Following discussions in subcommittees, Mr. Sasamori, General Secretary of RENGO, wrapped up the 2-day meeting. "It is too early to make a revision to the Constitution and we should be very careful to it. RENGO is only a body to realise a voice of wage earners' families accounting for more than 80% of the total population. However, RENGO needs to be more powerful and the following ten years are a turning point to a new era of the trade union movement. Areas needed to be improved and focused are peace, international and popular movements. We have not done enough yet in negotiating measures on employment creation, subsidy and unemployment with the government. The government has not illustrated a total picture of social security including pension. All depend on how RENGO can be successful in reflecting the voice of the people in its movement."

The following 7 areas and 29 items are major policy demands, which RENGO seeks to realise during 1999 and 2000 through political forces and relevant institutions.

1.	Economy recovery and employment stability should be realised in the earliest stages by achieving one-million-job creation, 4-trillion-yen allowance, establishment of fair tax system, and industrial revitalisation.
	(1)	Concrete measures should be taken to create one million jobs, in particular in the areas with increasing demand, such as welfare, nursing, environment, education, manufacturing and housing. Measures to stabilise living of the unemployed and also help them find jobs should be expanded, for example, by extending the period of unemployment benefit, as well as the period of prolonged-training-leave benefit.
	(2)	Personal consumption should be recovered and fairness of tax system should improved through the following concrete measures. Tax system for the low and middle-income groups should be reformed. Children allowance should be doubled and extended up to the age of 15. Emergency allowance should be provided to the aged. Interests and dividends should be totally taxed. Interest of housing loan and the certain amount of rent should be tax-deductible.
	(3)	Measures should be taken to recover small and medium enterprises. They include promoting skills and technologies in manufacturing industries, promoting information technologies, and promoting technological innovation as a whole.
	(4)	Measures to stabilize financial system should be facilitated. The government should proceed with disposition of bad credits without delay and enhance its function to examine and supervise the system. It should consider the use of the credit guarantee system as a means to solve the problem of lending squeeze.
	(5)	A Japanese version of the GAO should be established within the legislature. It should be aimed at assessing effectiveness of public investment at each level of planing, construction and completion in the view of avoiding duplications and transforming public works to be more life-focused.
2.	It is necessary to get rid of anxiety about future and to ensure the stability in living by establishing reliable pension system, improving the quality of medical and nursing services, and expanding aids to nursing and child-caring families.
	(6)	The State's share of basic pension should be raised up to a half. Furthermore, it should be born by tax in near future. The pension level should be maintained at the current level, which is 55% of a net income.
	(7)	Measures should be taken to ensure safety and high quality medical/nursing services. They include: clarifying division of functions among medical institutions; establishing the system of inclusive medial expenses; abolishing profit margin of medicine charges; building a new medical system for the aged focused on health insurance scheme; and putting into practice the disclosure of medical information.
	(8)	Caring insurance system should be user-centred and transparent. To this end, the participation of community residents in the operation of the system should be guaranteed. Focus should be located on building the infrastructure and improving human resource development in this area.
	(9)	It is urgent to solve the problem of waiting children for nursery school. Users' share of day-care should be lightened. Nursery services should be expanded and improved by considering infant care, the extension of service hours and holiday services. Aids to pregnant/nursing women should be enhanced through medical examination for pregnant women and free medical services for infants.
	(10)	It should be guaranteed that all employed workers, including part-time and dispatched workers, are affected by social insurance scheme and any violation should be dispelled.
3.	Total employment creation/stabilisation measures should be urgently taken and legislation related to "new work rules" should be reviewed in order to provide guidelines on working conditions for 21st century.
	(11)	The following system should be established: human resource development coping with industrial structural changes and high technology, social job evaluation system promoting job transfer, reliable and workers-centred employment services and extension of the period for the unemployment allowance by 90 days impartially.
	(12)	A law should be enacted to expand rights of part-time, dispatched and contract workers. A practice should be established to guarantee a continuing employment after the age of 65 in coping with the ageing society.
	(13)	The Child-rearing and caring the aged Law should be transformed into a law providing aids to workers with family responsibilities. Other measures to help both men and women to continue working, which include the selection of the system of husband and wife retaining separate family names.
	(14)	Woking conditions/environment, as well as safety and health measures, of small and medium enterprises should be improved in the view of correcting differentials between small/medium and large enterprises.
	(15)	Industrial Relations Commissions should be given additional function so that they can deal with individual industrial disputes.
4.	Life pattern should be reviewed in the light of preventing the global warming and enhancing the environment protection. Recycle economy and radioactive waste law should be enacted.
	(16)	Concrete measures should be formulated and implemented to achieve the goal of the discharge gas reduction provided in the Kyoto COP3 protocol. RENGO will establish the National Environment Conference to realise its proposals entitled "RENGO Eco-life 21."
	(17)	Recycle economy system should be realized through an early enactment of the recycle economy and radioactive waste law.
	(18)	Concrete measures should be taken to reduce discharge of toxic chemicals, including Dioxin. The rate of subsidies to the reconstruction of waste disposal plants should be increased.
5.	Reliable community life should be established through realizing education that gives the children latitude, maintaining necessary transportation, and enhancing support programmes for remote place in the mountains.
	(19)	Pressure-free education should be realised by five-day school week, reduction of class size and free curriculum formulation.
	(20)	Minimum transportation should be provided to all the community, including remote islands, necessary to attending hospital/school and shopping.
	(21)	National land preservation should be enhanced.
6.	Legislation, administration and judicature reforms, as well as decentralization of authority should be proceeded.
	(22)	Assessment system of the administration should be established to ensure the participation of the people in examining planning, implementation and effect of public works. To this end, the Board of Audit should be strengthened, an independent council to assess policies consisting of the wises should be established, and the inspecting role of the Prime Minister's Office should be enhanced.
	(23)	Authority and revenue source should be transferred to local governments for the purpose of promoting the decentralization
	(24)	Participation of the people in the election should be encouraged through realising voting on the sea for seamen, election leaves for public officers and other means.
	(25)	Acts concerning privacy protection and consumer contract should be enacted to protect the privacy of individuals and consumers' rights.
7.	Global peace and welfare should be maintained and even strengthened, while ILO core labour standards should be fully respected.
	(26)	For the purpose of stabilising the international financial market, a system regulating the flow of speculative short-term investment should be established, for example, by strengthening information transparency through the international cooperation.
	(27)	Cutback in US bases in Okinawa should realised and redevelopment after the return should be well planned. The environment in the bases should be fully purified under the responsibility of the Japanese government.
	(28)	The OECD Guidelines on multinational enterprises should be revised to include the ILO core labour standards. National contact points should be reformed a standing tripartite body.
	(29)	Concrete agreement should be concluded for the return of the Northern territories, based on which the Japan-Russia cooperation should be developed.