In the morning of September 12, RENGO and Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) held their first meeting in Tokyo since the latter's inauguration in May. 16 officials from RENGO, including President Sasamori, Acting President Sakakibara, 9 Vice Presidents, General Secretary Kusano and others attended a meeting with 16 Keidanren members, including Chairman Okuda, 4 Vice Chairmen, and Director-General Yano. Both sides agreed to band together on issues which they could jointly pursue such as economic recovery and employment measures. RENGO and Keidanren will maintain a similar relationship as that which RENGO had with NIKKEIREN (Japan Federation of Employers' Associations) and hold three summits a year, as well as promote opinion exchanges at the office-level and in local regions.

 

Photo: President Sasamori delivering a speech. (at the Japan Business Federation building, Otemachi, Tokyo.)

President Sasamori presented the first speech wherein he touched upon the problem of corporate ethics saying, "corporate scandals, mishaps and troubles have been appearing one after another shaking the very core of our industries and businesses." He expressed his view that "we realize that labor also bears a heavy responsibility. Regarding social responsibilities for future business/organization management, we, in conjunction with management would like to take responses that are reassuring to the people." Continuing, President Sasamori shared his experiences of travelling across the country as part of "Action Route 47" and that conditions in "local regions' were worse than the center had imagined. We must seek policy changes from the government in order to restore the economy." He asked management that both labor and management both pressure the government to implement measures for economic recovery and employment, as well as to take concrete actions on tax and social security system revision. Finally, he touched on the state of future labor movements by expressing his determination to "do everything in our powers for regeneration, activation, and fortification of the movement."

Responding, Chairman Okuda said that, "our sense of crisis is just as critical as that of President Sasamori. If labor and management do not cooperate on these problems, there will be no future for Japan in the 21st century," these were the words he used to emphasize future coordination and cooperation. On the matter of managing meetings between Keidanren and RENGO, he was ambitious saying, "we want to build a new Japan by placing conditions on the future status of the Japanese economy, political system, and so forth. Let us—labor and management—band together and tackle them."

At the opinion exchange, RENGO General Secretary Kusano explained RENGO's three urgent priority issues. They are: [1] implement measures for economic recovery and employment, [2] realize equal treatment for part-time workers and improve their working conditions, and [3] enforce control of working hours. He also revealed that regarding work-sharing issues currently under study in government-labor-management working-level consultations, they hope to summarize consultations within the year.
Afterward, the 9 RENGO vice presidents each offered their remarks. These included responses to high unemployment among youth; co-existence and integration with China in manufacturing industry etc.; revision of the practice of the Civil Rehabilitation Law; corporate ethical problems; Civil Service System reform; establishment of tax/social security systems for the utilization of women.
The nine attendees from Keidanren remarked on issues including the state of the "Labor Problem Inquiry Report," effective work-sharing studies, establishing corporate ethics, multi-structure in the companies caused by diversified employment patterns.
Chairman Okuda further touched on one report that quoted him as having said, "union dues are too expensive." He said that the comment was based on the perception that "we should reconsider every aspect of Japan's social systems." He added that his comment meant to state that it might be necessary to reconsider fees for after-school cram schools, medical care for the elderly, labor unions, all of which occupy a large part of Japanese household budgets.

Both leaders summarized the meeting in conclusion. President Sasamori stated that "it is important to look for a common link to band together to build upon. We want to have three productive meetings a year." Okuda repeatedly emphasized that "to breakthrough these condition, labor and management must keep cooperating to tackle problems." He ended the first RENGO/Keidanren meeting saying "it is necessary to have labor-management discussions to establish a safety-net for unemployed workers in small to mid-sized businesses, and at the same dispose of bad debt."