Japan Press Weekly

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2016 April 20 - 26 [POLITICS]

Urgent support for SMEs in quake-hit region in Kyushu needed

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Majima Shozo at a House committee meeting on April 22 stressed the need to urgently find out the actual situation of small- and- medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the quake-hit region in Kyushu and provide them with support so that they can avoid having to shut down their businesses and can restore their ways of making a living.

Majima urged the central government to immediately take measures to respond to the pressing demand from the affected local builders and SMEs for a moratorium on loan repayments and leasing charge payments as well as for an extension of the deadline for submission of applications for workmen’s compensation.

The head of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency said in reply that the agency will launch concrete measures in collaboration with relevant authorities.

The JCP lawmaker also emphasized the importance of effectively implementing the government measure to promote fair business practices for the sake of subcontracting SMEs, pointing out that many small companies in the auto industry, for example, still cannot freely speak to larger subcontractors and parent corporations under the multi-layered subcontracting system. He demanded that such a situation be corrected in order to back up the disaster-stricken SMEs.

Past related articles:
> JCP sets up taskforce to assist victims following Kumamoto earthquake [April 16, 2016]
> JCP demands suspension of Sendai NPP in quake-hit Kyushu [April 17, 2016]
>JCP collects donations for disaster victims in Kyushu[April 18, 2016]
> JCP strives hard to relieve victims of earthquakes in Kyushu [April 19, 2016]
> JCP lawmakers to gov’t: direct utmost efforts to disaster relief [April 19, 2016]