2

Two 'industrial revitalization' bills will let small businesses go bust, help large corporations

The Koizumi Cabinet in its meeting on January 28 approved two bills on industrial revitalization.

Akahata of January 29 reported that the two bills are intended to promote "industrial reorganization" that will let more small- and medium-sized businesses go bust and help large corporations increase their international competitiveness.

The bill to extend the 1999 Industrial Revitalization Law expiring in March for five more years allows companies to make some decisions without resolutions of shareholders' meeting to facilitate corporate restructuring.

The other bill on the Industrial Revitalization Corporation proposes to set up a corporation with government guaranteed money of 10 trillion yen (84 billion dollars) to buy bad loans held by major banks. If a loss arises at the time of the Corporation's dissolution, it will be made up for by tax money.

Akahata said that the asset to the Japanese economy is the accumulation of small- and medium-sized enterprises with manpower equipped with excellent skills. Because the Liberal Democratic Party governments did not curb the outrageous actions of large corporations, the strength of small businesses could not be used, which is the cause of the economic recession to have been prolonged.

Akahata stated that true industrial revitalization is in the government telling large corporations to end unpaid overtime, shorten working hours to create jobs, and stop bullying subcontractors, instead of busting small businesses and encouraging corporate restructuring. (end)