JCP in parliament lashes government's cold-blooded policy toward smaller businesses

In the December 2 House of Representatives Budget Committee meeting, Shiokawa Tetsuya of the Japanese Communist Party said that the Financial Services Agency is refusing to give advice to troubled small- and medium-sized enterprises as they are pushed by banks into repaying loans at once.

The agency's counseling is available only by fax or e-mail. And the agency is advertising that all complaints about banks' reluctance to make loan or unilateral calls for interest rate increases and immediate repayment of loans should go to the Japanese Bankers Association.

This shows, Shiokawa claimed, that the agency has no intention to help those smaller business owners who are in financial difficulties solve their problems and survive.

He pointed out that it is extraordinary that banks are pushing small- and medium-sized enterprises to accept interest rate increases at such a time of deflation and extremely low interest rates.

The total loans provided by Japan's four major financial groups have decreased by ten percent or 24 trillion yen (218 billion US dollars) in the past year.

This shows, Shiokawa stated, that the government policy of accelerating the write-off of bad loans is only accelerating increases in bad loans.

Showing specific figures, Shiokawa asked why the employment insurance benefits have been decreasing despite the increase in the insurance premiums.

To Sakaguchi Chikara, minister of Health, Labor, and Welfare, who mumbled a meaningless answer, Shiokawa asserted that this is because of the adverse revision of the employment insurance.

He demanded that government funds be used to maintain the employment insurance system and support the living standards of the unemployed. (end)