Govt. Economic/Deflationary Measures Must Care for Small to Mid-sized Businesses RENGO / KEIZAI DOYUKAI / JCCI Summit (18 November 2002)

Pres. Sasamori speaking to the Doyukai: “Govt.-labor-business cooperation is vital to secure jobs.” (14th.) Pres. Sasamori speaking to the JCCI: We agree on measures for economic/deflationary problems. (15th.) RENGO held high-level talks with the Keizai Doyukai (Japan Association of Corporate Executives) on November 14 and with the Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 15 at a hotel in Tokyo. Most of the opinions exchanged during the meetings concerned government economic, deflationary and employment measures. Attendees affirmed that they agreed on such points as ‘the critical situation of the Japanese economy,’ and ‘demanding that the government take economic/deflationary measures with sufficient consideration of small to mid-sized businesses.’ Attendees included RENGO President Sasamori, Acting RENGO President Sakakibara, Keizai Doyukai Chairman Yotaro Kobayashi and Vice Chairman Masaharu Ikuta, JCCI Chairman Nobuo Yamaguchi, and JCCI Special Advisor to the Chairman and the Labor Committee Chair Shoichi Asaji. At the meeting with the Keizai Doyukai held on the 14th, President Sasamori stated that despite the state of the local economy and sluggish employment, politicians in the central government lacked any sense of crisis and their policies had no grasp of the current conditions. He then stressed the importance of creating a safety net as a lifeline for workers. Responding to Sasamori’s remarks, Keizai Doyukai Chairman Kobayashi recognized the necessity of proceeding with structural reform while at the same time pushing ahead with efforts to make the Industrial Revitalization Corporation function effectively. He also stated that it is crucial to conduct an opinion forum with RENGO on how to respond to local troubles and employment problems. At the opinion exchange, RENGO and the Keizai Doyukai reached a common agreement that the “economy is in a critical state” and that “government must take drastic measures on the economy and deflation” but ideas differed on certain other points. Keizai Doyukai representatives stated that they thought it was necessary to allocate jobs to industries and businesses that were revitalizing and to do so, job creation through job mobility and deregulation was an effective method. RENGO countered this by arguing that if employment was mobilized without forming new industries, deregulation would only increase unemployment not jobs. Opinions on both sides differed on issues such as how to view Special Economic Districts or whether or not the government’s serious fiscal spending on unemployment measures was necessary. President Sasamori opened the meeting on the 15th with the JCCI (Japan Chamber of Commerce and Industry) with a speech. He explained that that local economy was in a critical state and if the Takenaka Reform continued without change, small to mid-sized businesses bankruptcies would appear one after another. Then he stressed the necessity of changing government policy and the realization of a large-scale supplementary budget. Chairman Yamaguchi of the JCCI responded by saying that the Takenaka Reform was like losing weight when one is at their physically weakest condition and that both the JCCI and RENGO shared the same understanding of the situation. He further stated that we need a firm safety net, economic recovery and to break the deflationary spiral. He also stated that the JCCI hopes to tackle problems together with RENGO wherever collaborative activities were possible.

---

Current Domestic Actions