Koizumi considers legislation for further labor market deregulation

Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro has directed the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry to begin work on a bill to make it easier for employers to dismiss workers.

Akahata of May 19 reported that the Japanese prime minister's initiative includes expanding the framework in which employers are allowed to hire short-term workers in response to the demand of Japanese and U.S. corporations.

The 1998 revision of the Labor Standards Law allowed employers to hire workers on short term contracts with a three-year limit. But the measure limited the range of such workers to those with professional expertise, and corporations have been demanding a further expansion of application of the revised law.

The Japan Federation of Employers' Associations, one of the nation's major business organizations, has called for a greater part of the workforce to be met by contract, part-time, or temporary workers as part of its 21st century strategy.

The Federation of Economic Organizations, the leader of Japan's business circles, has also called for similar measures as well as widening the range of the application of discretionary work schedules which are believed to be the source of unpaid overtime work.

The American Chamber of Commerce in Japan, made up of U.S. corporations operating in Japan, has been critical of what they call an "excessively regulated" labor market. Arguing that Japanese labor laws lack the definition of what the validity of reasons for dismissals are, it has suggested the need for appropriate legislation to ensure that companies can dismiss workers more easily. (end)