Japan Press Weekly

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2014 September 17 - 23 [POLITICS]

Keidanren chair appointed as member of gov’t’s economic council

Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) Chairman Sakakibara Sadayuki on September 16 joined the Cabinet Office’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP) as a member from the private sector. This is the first time for a Keidanren chair to join the council in the past six years.

The CEFP is considered the central government’s “control tower” regarding economic policies. The council consists of four private-sector members such as business leaders and academics, along with the economic and finance ministers as well as Prime Minister Abe Shinzo.

Sakakibara’s joining the council is a blatant example of how Japan’s business circles are positioned to influence national economic policies.

Earlier this month, Sakakibara announced that Keidanren will encourage corporate donations to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) after a lapse of five years. LDP Secretary General Tanigaki Sadakazu expressed his gratitude to the chairman for the move.

At the council meeting on September 16, private-sector members emphasized the need to help Japanese companies boost their power to make profits. They insisted that the administration should make further efforts to increase the mobility of the labor market as well as to “correct” Japan’s seniority-based wage system. They also urged the government to further cut social welfare services and again raise the consumption tax rate from the current 8% to 10% in October 2015 as currently planned.

Past related article:
> Keidanren member corporations will resume political donations to LDP [August 28, 2014]