Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2012 December 5 - 11 [LABOR]

Market mechanism should not determine minimum wage: Shii

The minimum wage system would not effectively work if it is determined by a market mechanism, said Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo on December 4, criticizing Ishin no Kai’s election pledge.

He made the comment during his kick-off speech for the Lower House general election in front of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station.

Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party - JRP) initially called for the abolition of the minimum wage system in its election platform, but later changed it to “reform toward a minimum wage system that emphasizes the market mechanism.”

Japan’s minimum hourly wage is 749 yen on average, only 1.5 million yen a year, which is the lowest among major advanced capitalist countries, Shii pointed out, and said, “If we let the market determine the minimum wage, it will go into free fall. That is why the minimum wage system must be maintained.”