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Large companies have amassed 204 trillion yen in reserve

The annual National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren) "data book" on December 5 revealed that the amount of internal reserves of 143 large corporations, not including banks and securities firms, has reached 204 trillion yen (about 1,7 trillion dollars), 2.5 times the fiscal 2005 national budgets

It is also double the amount registered during the Japanese bubble economy of the 1980s.

According to the 2006 data book, 139 of 143 large companies (97 percent), including Toyota Motor Corp., reported a surplus in their current accounts while only four companies reported losses. Twenty-nine companies using consolidated accounts amassed more than one trillion yen in reserves. Of these, Toyota Motor ranked number-one with about 10.4 trillion yen (about 85.6 billion dollars).

In contrast, 1,240,000 full-time jobs were cut as a result of corporate restructuring, including replacement of regular workers with temps or contract workers. The total amount of the annual salary fell by 250,000 yen per capita. The amount of household income also decreased by 370,000 yen a year.

The data book estimated that if these large corporations use just 1.8 percent of their funds in reserve for personnel costs, their employees' monthly wages can increase by 10,000 yen and bonuses will increase by 60,000 yen.

Taking into account the growing number of those engaged in unstable employment such as part-timers, temps, and contract workers, Zenroren concluded, "It is necessary to urgently improve people's livelihoods by joint efforts with a wider range of people to put an end to the profit-first-policy promoted by large corporations and to urge them to fulfill their corporate social responsibilities.

Consolidated internal reserves consist of various gains that a company has piled up, including unreported profit. Zenroren defines the total sum of the following four reserves as consolidated internal reserves: consolidated surpluses, capital reserves, reserves for employees' retirement benefits, and long-term liabilities reserves.
- Akahata, December 7, 2005