Shii demands gov't support for wage hike

February 20, 2013

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on February 19 had a talk with Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide, urging the government to make earnest efforts to get workers' wages increased.

The talk was based on a proposal the JCP recently published for enabling the restoration of the economy and people's living conditions with higher wages and more stable jobs.

Shii stated that although the government and the JCP propose fundamentally different approaches for overcoming the deflationary recession, recent Diet deliberations have revealed that they share the belief that employees' salaries need to be raised and that huge internal reserves amassed by large companies provide the conditions to realize that.

In response to Shii's demand that the government request business circles to promote a wage hike, Suga stated that Prime Minister Abe has made such a request to economic organizations and wants to continue to make such requests.


Pointing out that the PM's request only indicates a rise in bonus payments, the JCP chair stressed the need to promote a basic wage increase.

He also proposed that the government take wage-hike stimulus measures, such as to encourage employers to turn non-regular workers into regular workers; drastically increase minimum wages; and establish rules to ensure fair dealings between large and smaller companies.