Business leaders call on gov't to upgrade safety net for unemployed

TOKYO, Jan. 6 Kyodo - The heads of Japan's major business lobbies warned Tuesday of a tough year
ahead in 2009 and stressed the urgent need to upgrade safety net programs to
cope with rapidly increasing job cuts, especially among nonregular workers.
The presidents of top Japanese companies, who gathered for a New Year's
reception at a Tokyo hotel, also called for speedy measures to stem the
economic downturn, which they warned would be longer and more devastating than
previous economic cycles.
''What we want to ask the government is to improve the safety net'' for the
unemployed, Fujio Mitarai, chairman of the Japan Business Federation, told a
news conference.
All-out efforts by companies are necessary to create new jobs through
innovation in new products and services, he said, adding that more jobs are
necessary in areas such as nursing care and child rearing as well as
agriculture.
''To secure employment, I think the idea of work sharing is one option,'' said
Mitarai, who heads the nation's most powerful business lobby also known as
Nippon Keidanren.
In front of the hotel at which the press conference and New Year's reception
were held, a number of nonregular workers who have lost their jobs in the
current economic downturn staged a demonstration, criticizing the failure of
business leaders to secure jobs.
One demonstrator said, ''Workers are facing a critical situation but the
business circle is not doing anything.'' Another demonstrator called on
companies to spend their ''ample'' internal reserves on job security.
Referring to recent comments by labor minister Yoichi Masuzoe calling for
revisions to laws that allow the employment of nonregular workers in the
manufacturing sector, Mitarai said, ''Laws should be reviewed by the
government, labor and management'' if necessary to cope with the changing
social environment.
Mitarai said economic conditions in 2009 will be ''extremely severe'' and
expressed his desire for a quick recovery of the U.S. economy to buoy the
export-oriented Japanese economy.
''We hope the administration of (U.S. President-elect Barack) Obama will
implement a large-scale stimulus package to create demand and jobs,'' he said.
With regard to the Japanese government, Tadashi Okamura, chairman of the Japan
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, called for the early passage of the second
supplementary budget for fiscal 2008, the record-high state budget for fiscal
2009 and other relevant legislation.
As a medium- to long-term measure, Okamura, who also serves as chairman of
Toshiba Corp., said the social security system must be improved to provide a
sense of security and in a way to boost domestic production.
Masamitsu Sakurai, chairman of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives,
said companies need to accelerate efforts to promptly offer products and
services for a low-carbon society and the aging population to buoy the Japanese
economy.
At the reception party, Sony Corp. President Ryoji Chubachi told reporters the
global economy is in a severe situation.
''I think this time it will be longer-lasting than the usual economic slumps,''
he said.
Chubachi said Sony, which announced 16,000 job cuts and other drastic
restructuring plans in December, had no choice but to shed part of its
workforce with the rapid deterioration in consumer demand outpacing measures to
reduce production.
NTT Docomo Inc. President Ryuji Yamada said ''the economic outlook is
unforeseeable during this age of uncertainty.''
To combat the harsher economic conditions ahead, company chiefs also called for
the government to pass the fiscal 2009 budget as well as the second extra
budget without further political wrangling with the opposition parties.
''The various economic measures (the government) has defined need to be carried
out in a timely manner with speed,'' said Haruka Nishimatsu, president of Japan
Airlines Corp.
Nishimatsu said JAL plans to reduce capital spending by forgoing the purchase
of new aircraft, warning the outlook for the airline industry is ''severe''
with the sharp drop in business travelers.
Kazuo Tsukuda, chairman of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd., said the current
political situation is ''frustrating'' with key government decisions hampered
by a divided Diet, where opposition parties control the House of Councillors.
''The situation has been continuing for a while where things that have already
been decided are not being implemented promptly,'' Tsukuda said while calling
for the government to put ''bold measures'' into practice.
''The tough period will continue throughout this year,'' Tsukuda said, pinning
his hopes on an economic recovery in 2010.
NEC Corp. Chairman Hajime Sasaki said, ''It is unavoidable that the worldwide
(economic) growth rate will turn negative'' this year.
But Sasaki said the current economic storm provides a ''timely wake-up call''
to restructure the global economy, which has been dependent on heavy
consumption of natural resources and energy to achieve growth.
''2009 will be a period of change with regard to how we can build a world that
uses few resources and less energy,'' Sasaki said.
==Kyodo
2009-01-06 22:08:36