January 24 & 26, 2014
Ministers-turned candidates for the Tokyo gubernatorial election, which kicked off on January 23, are showing their position of supporting the Abe Cabinet’s plan to ease labor laws.
Prime Minister Abe intends to establish “national strategic special zones” in order to completely free companies from rules protecting workers under the slogan of changing Japan to the world’s best nation for corporate investment.
Former welfare minister Masuzoe Yoichi, who is running in the governor race under the ticket of the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties, stated that he supports Abe’s strategic special zone plan.
Seeking to develop the world’s friendliest business infrastructure, Masuzoe promised to build a global strategic special economic zone in Tokyo where extensive deregulation measures will be implemented. This will make it possible for Tokyo to serve as a model of state regulatory reform, he stated.
Another candidate and former prime minister, Hosokawa Morihiro, also made a promise to support Abe’s special zone project. In the promise, he demanded that state responsibility to public job placement services be shifted to Tokyo so that the metropolitan government can use private human resource companies as job search services which could be provided to workers who will face corporate downsizing in a special economic zone.
On the other hand, Japanese Communist Party-backed candidate Utsunomiya Kenji pledged to turn Tokyo into a city which is the best place for people to work by creating ordinances which regulate the exploitative labor practices of “black corporations” and the norm of excessively long working hours.
Prime Minister Abe intends to establish “national strategic special zones” in order to completely free companies from rules protecting workers under the slogan of changing Japan to the world’s best nation for corporate investment.
Former welfare minister Masuzoe Yoichi, who is running in the governor race under the ticket of the Liberal Democratic and Komei parties, stated that he supports Abe’s strategic special zone plan.
Seeking to develop the world’s friendliest business infrastructure, Masuzoe promised to build a global strategic special economic zone in Tokyo where extensive deregulation measures will be implemented. This will make it possible for Tokyo to serve as a model of state regulatory reform, he stated.
Another candidate and former prime minister, Hosokawa Morihiro, also made a promise to support Abe’s special zone project. In the promise, he demanded that state responsibility to public job placement services be shifted to Tokyo so that the metropolitan government can use private human resource companies as job search services which could be provided to workers who will face corporate downsizing in a special economic zone.
On the other hand, Japanese Communist Party-backed candidate Utsunomiya Kenji pledged to turn Tokyo into a city which is the best place for people to work by creating ordinances which regulate the exploitative labor practices of “black corporations” and the norm of excessively long working hours.
