November 18, 2011

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Yamashita Yoshiki called on the government to hold the Panasonic Corporation accountable for retaining employment and contributing to local economies at the November 17 House General Affairs Committee meeting.

The electronic multinational Panasonic Corporation, which recently acquired Sanyo Electric Corp. is undergoing major restructuring that includes the closing of factories, massive dismissals, and forced transfers of workers to distant locations. Among plants affected are factories in Ibaragi City in Osaka Prefecture, Amagasaki City in Hyogo Prefecture, Mobara City in Chiba Prefecture, Hioki City in Kagoshima Prefecture, and Tottori City in Tottori Prefecture. The local governments and mayors are asking the company to keep the factories running because they have provided it a large amount of subsidies over the years to the company.

Yamashita introduced concerns from the municipalities hosting the Panasonic factories, such as, “Panasonic has been taking huge subsidies from the local government. It is unforgivable for it not to fulfill its responsibility in regard to employment and the local economy.” He also criticized the multinational’s unlawful and illegal downsizing for breaking up families by making married couples transfer to different locations.

Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Kawabata Tatsuo told Yamashita that the workers were not to blame, adding, “Private corporations should not only engage in economic activities but contribute to the local economies. They have to give maximum consideration to employment.”

Yamashita also pointed out that if all the companies in Japan acted like Panasonic, there would be massive unemployment throughout Japan, creating a downward spiral in Japan’s overall economy. He urged the government to take decisive measures to disallow such corporate behavior.

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In Hyogo Prefecture, Panasonic’s three factories in Amagasaki City and a factory in Himeji City have received 9 billion yen in subsidies since 2005. The Amagasaki City government even exempts those factories from paying property taxes. However, Panasonic plans to shut down the two factories that are making plasma display panels in the city and dismiss approximately 1,000 mostly temporary workers.

At the factories and offices of Sanyo in Tottori City, early retirement has been offered to 1,000 employees with the goal to cut 300 jobs through this plan. In addition, 450 workers were instructed to move to other locations distant from Tottori Prefecture. For example, the company notified employees of the R&D department of car navigation devices to transfer to Yokohama City, those of its manufacturing section to Matsumoto City, and those of the electronic components manufacturing affiliate to Uozu City. All named cities are outside Tottori Prefecture.

On November 17, Nihi Sohei, former member of the House of Councilors, and representatives of the JCP Tottori Prefectural Committee met with officials from the Tottori Prefectural government and the Tottori Labor Office, calling for stronger actions to put a stop to the illegal firing of workers at Panasonic. Nihi said, “Panasonic has internal reserves amounting to 4 trillion yen. This downsizing is out of greed for more profit. The prefectural government should make Sanyo retain its workforce, particularly since it has provided 4 billion yen in subsidies to the company.”