JCP works to set a municipal ordinance to stimulate local economy

Tokyo-based lamp maker Kyobashi Industries Inc. went bankrupt late last year after its biggest customer company moved its production base to China.

Mitachi Ltd., which used to hold a 40-percent market share in the record player sector, closed down its business in January after its biggest customer started production outside Japan.

Mikawa Precision Inc. also went out of business in February after its customers one after another shifted their production bases abroad.

These represent the tip of the iceberg. With partner companies or customers shifting their operations abroad to capitalize on cheaper labor costs, many small- and medium-sized businesses in Japan are being driven into bankruptcy.

A survey conducted by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation shows that 54.6 percent of companies surveyed said they are considering "reinforcing and expanding overseas production" as their top priority. 79.6 percent of respondents said they will "strengthen their businesses abroad within three years", and 22 percent of corporations said they "will scale back domestic operations."

The Japanese Communist Party thinks that artisans' technologies have supported the Japanese industry, and that to place a greater importance on these technologies is the way to stimulate local economies and overcome the present recession.

To revitalize local economies, the JCP in each local assembly demands that an ordinance be enacted to promote the local economy, and urges each municipality to draw up an industrial policy by itself. (end)