Japan Press Weekly

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2007 June 6 - 12 [LABOR]

JCP Takahashi calls for establishment of national minimum wage system with hourly wage of 1,000 yen

Japanese Communist Party representative Takahashi Chizuko at the June 8 House of Representatives Labor Committee meeting called on the government to establish a uniform national minimum wage system with an hourly wage of at least 1,000 yen.

Pointing to an International Labor Organization’s research report showing that among 101 countries surveyed, only nine countries fail to establish a uniform national wage system, Takahashi stressed that the establishment of such a system is common practice in the world.

She criticized the regional minimum wage system for perpetuating and increasing wage disparities among regions. The difference between the top and the bottom regional minimum wage increased from 104 yen to 109 yen in 2006.

The Japan Research Institute of Labor Movement estimated that the introduction of a national minimum wage system with an hourly wage at 1,000 yen will increase the total wage by two trillion yen, and assuming that half of the amount is spent by consumers, this will expand local economies by 2.6 trillion yen bringing benefits to small- and medium-sized businesses.

Labor Minister Yanagisawa Hakuo said, “A drastic increase in the minimum wage will negatively affect corporate businesses.” He also turned his back on the proposal to establish a national minimum wage system on the grounds that it is “unrealistic.” - Akahata, June 9, 2007