Japan Press Weekly

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2013 September 11 - 17 [POLITICS]

Osaka mayor issues proposal for special economic zone for large corporations

Osaka Mayor Hashimoto Toru on September 11 announced that Osaka City and Osaka Prefecture will jointly submit to the central government a proposal for a special economic zone where regulations on working hours and dismissals will be relaxed.

The proposal will pave the way for limitless long working hours and arbitrary layoffs if implemented. It is attracting much criticism on the Internet, eliciting such comments as “It’s a special zone for ‘black corporations’,” and “Is it OK for the city government to benefit black corporations?”

The proposal was made in response to the Abe Cabinet’s plan to establish “National Strategic Special Zones” in which various regulations are relaxed or modified in accordance with local authorities’ requests. Osaka’s proposal document states that it seeks to make it easier for companies to make more profits in Japan than anywhere in the world, just the same as the Abe’s economic growth strategy states.

According to the proposal, in the Midosuji area, Osaka’s major business district, companies will be allowed to have their high-income employees exempted from the work-hour limit set by the labor law and to dismiss them more easily than other employees.

The Osaka mayor also announced a plan for another special zone in which patients can receive both insured medical services and special uninsured procedures simultaneously, which will benefit only the rich. Hashimoto’s moves show his intention to take the lead in deregulattory reform in Japan.