Japan Press Weekly

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2022 June 1 - 7 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP Kasai attends virtual event aimed at widely publicizing Small and Medium Enterprise Charter

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kasai Akira, who is in charge of JCP economic and industrial affairs, on June 5 attended an online event which the National Conference of the Association of Small Business Entrepreneurs held to kick off its one-month campaign aimed at increasing the use of the Small and Medium Enterprise Charter among small businesses.

The Small and Medium Enterprise Charter was established in June 2010 with Cabinet approval. Its aim is to give credit for the role that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and sole proprietors play in society and regard them as the backbone of Japan’s economic development.

Speaking as a guest, JCP Kasai stressed that the JCP seeks to change the current “cold and weak economy” which resulted from the imposition of neoliberal policies to a “people-oriented and genuinely-strong” one. He said that based on this policy, the JCP calls for an urgent reduction of the consumption tax rate to 5% and the cancellation of the implementation of the consumption tax invoice system. He continued to say that the party also proposes increasing the minimum hourly wage to 1,500 yen with government subsidies for smaller businesses which should be financed by a temporary levy on large corporations’ internal reserves.

The JCP parliamentarian expressed his determination to work hard to establish a government which will fully assist SMEs struggling to survive the ongoing price surge triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the extremely weak yen.

Along with JCP Kasai, other guests, including lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties and labor union representatives, also delivered speeches in solidarity.

National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) President Obata Masako stressed that the significance of the SME Charter has become clearer. She reported on Zenroren’s proposal for SME support which calls for direct support by the government to SMEs, the protection of smaller businesses from unfair trading practices, and the creation of a vibrant economy at the local level. She said that Zenroren will work to extend collaboration with organizations representing small- and medium-sized business.