Japan’s Takaichi Vows Support for Wage Hikes at May Day Event

Tokyo, April 29 (Jiji Press)–Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday vowed to make every effort to create an environment conducive to wage increases, at her first May Day event attended since taking office last autumn. The prime minister also called for cooperation to achieve “sustained wage hikes that outpace inflation.” The May Day central convention was held by the Japanese Trade Union Confederation, the umbrella organization for labor unions in Japan known as Rengo, at Yoyogi Park in Tokyo. Regarding soaring energy prices stemming from tensions in the Middle East, Takaichi said, “In order to protect people’s livelihoods and economic activity, we’re maintaining the country’s (average retail) price of regular gasoline at around 170 yen (per liter) by implementing measures to mitigate sudden price fluctuations.” Also touching on the country’s nonpartisan National Council on Social Security that is discussing a planned consumption tax cut for food items, the prime minister stressed, “Our major goal is to reduce the burden on low- and middle-income earners who are struggling with taxes and social insurance premiums.” It was the fourth year in a row for a Japanese prime minister to be present at Rengo’s May Day event. At Wednesday’s event, union members expressed opposition to Takaichi’s proposal to consider easing regulations on working hours, and called for the creation of a society where people can live with peace of mind through “true work style reforms,” including correcting long working hours. “The fact that we still have to call for corrections to long working hours sounds like a bad joke,” Rengo President Tomoko Yoshino said. “Expanding the discretionary labor system is unnecessary.” Rengo adopted a May Day declaration, asserting that death from overwork remains an unresolved issue and that the strengthening of caps on working hours is needed. Around 26,300 people took part in the day’s event. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]