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毎日デイリーニューズ - 記事一覧
http://mainichi.jp/english/english/perspectives/editorial/
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2019/2/16 20:10
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Trump should think twice about nat'l emergency declaration to build wall
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Where does a national emergency exist in the United States now?
U.S. President Donald Trump declared a national emergency on Feb. 15 in order to build a wall along the border with Mexico, while at the same time indicated he would sign a budget bill agreed in Congress to avoid another partial shutdown of the federal government.
The bill allocated some $1.3 billion for the construction of "barriers," but the president, who demanded 5.7 billion to build "the wall," was not satisfied, as the project is arguably one of the biggest promises he made to voters.
So he decided to use his presidential power, based on the National Emergency Act of 1976, to spend more on the wall. This action cannot evade criticism as makeshift and high-handed.
Authority over budgetary matters belongs to Congress under the U.S. Constitution. It is against democratic rules for President Trump to use the immense power of his office to ignore the budget bill agreed on by both the ruling Republican and opposition Democratic parties. The reasons he cited for declaring a national emergency are far from convincing.
A national emergency was declared in 2001 after the 9/11 terror attacks on the U.S., and in 2009 to counter an influenza epidemic. Such declarations are not rare, but one has to wonder if Trump's statement that the declaration was necessary to prevent the inflow of illegal immigrants and drugs has true urgency and legitimacy.
The Democrats pointed out that the president is abusing his power, saying that what is going on along the U.S. border with Mexico is not a national emergency. This opinion makes more sense.
Perhaps the president made the move out of consideration for the 2020 presidential election. But why does he have to pursue the construction of "the wall" so single-mindedly? One has to worry anew about the xenophobic tendencies of President Trump.
U.S. society now has two opposing movements: One seeking unity beyond ethnic, religious or gender differences, and the other trying to remove things that are different. The latter includes contempt for African Americans and women, and prejudice and discrimination against Muslims.
President Trump shares this exclusionary tendency, and his attitude toward immigrants is particularly harsh. "The wall" is arguably a symbol of Trumpism. But is it not a "national emergency" for the United States, which has achieved its tremendous prosperity through the inflow of immigrants, to push ahead with the noxious logic of exclusionism?
U.S. ally Israel has built a wall to seal off Palestinian residential areas. The structure was found illegal by the International Court of Justice and others. President Trump's wall does not have such illegality, but the two structures share the suffocating aim of excluding others.
As xenophobic populism is becoming conspicuous in Europe, the impact of the U.S. move toward the construction of "the wall" will not be small.
We call on President Trump to think again.
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2019/2/15 18:10
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Legal recognition of same-sex marriage should proceed
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Thirteen couples filed damages lawsuits against the government in four district courts across the nation on Feb. 14, saying the state's refusal to legally recognize the marriage of same-sex couples is against the constitutional guarantee of freedom of marriage and equality under the law. These are the first lawsuits questioning the constitutionality of Japan's legal system, which does not acknowledge same-sex marriage. They should be considered as a natural expression of the zeitgeist.
The level of social recognition for sexual minorities such as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people is rising. However, their marriage applications are still turned down by local governments, which cite the Civil Code and other laws that say marriage is between "a husband and wife" and therefore between a man and woman.
Legally married pairs can inherit each other's assets, and are entitled to tax breaks for spouses. Foreign partners of Japanese nationals can stay in Japan as spouses. But these legal rights are beyond the reach of same-sex couples. Correcting such contradictions is the purpose of the lawsuits.
The social environment surrounding same-sex couples has changed substantially already.
In March 2015, Tokyo's Shibuya Ward introduced a partnership ordinance under which the ward office effectively recognizes same-sex relationships as marriage and takes appropriate measures. This move triggered a number of similar measures by local governments across the nation. Major cities with a total population of more than 9 million residents, such as Sapporo in northern Japan, Fukuoka in the south and Osaka in the west, introduced guidelines and other regulations on this issue.
In addition, an increasing number of companies have extended allowances and other measures that are applied to married employees to same-sex couples as well, based on the understanding that they, too, are married.
The reality is moving ahead of the legal system. What the plaintiffs are seeking is not a special right, but equality. Their argument is convincing. We cannot leave them at such a disadvantage.
A survey conducted by major advertising company Dentsu Inc. in January showed that nearly 80 percent of 6,000 respondents sided with same-sex marriage. More women than men, and more younger people, supported the arrangement. Internationally, 25 countries including the United States and leading European nations employ equal marriage rights regardless of the couples' sexes.
Article 24 of the Constitution stipulates that marriage "shall be based only on the mutual consent of both sexes." This provision, say some experts, does not exclude same-sex marriage, and its legal recognition, therefore, can be introduced with a new law. We don't have to wait for the courts' decision on this matter. A national debate is needed on how to find places for families with diversifying forms in our legal system.
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2019/2/14 20:10
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'Disappointed' Sakurada not fit to serve as Olympics minister
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After top Japanese swimmer Rikako Ikee announced she was suffering from leukemia, calls of support flooded in from within Japan and abroad. But amid this support, the minister in charge of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics made a comment that was nothing short of inconsiderate.
In response to the news about the Olympic hopeful's illness on Feb. 12, Yoshitaka Sakurada told reporters, "I'm really disappointed," and added, "I'm worried that the swell (for the Games) might go down a bit."
Sakurada did also say he wanted Ikee "to focus on receiving treatment and fully recover." Nevertheless, expressing his "disappointment" when the 18-year-old athlete was waiting for detailed medical tests is nothing but thoughtless.
What was Sakurada disappointed about? Judging from his other statements such as "She is a potential gold medalist" and "She is someone Japan should be proud of," he was disappointed because Ikee's chance of winning a medal had decreased. And he made those remarks after the swimmer herself had expressed eagerness to return to the pool in the future.
Does he think that athletes are just pawns producing a swell for the games? From his comments one could certainly imagine so.
For politicians, words are critical. They should always think how their words will be perceived. Sakurada apologized and retracted his statements on Feb. 13, but that is not the end of the story.
Since his assumption of his post last fall, Sakurada has repeatedly made awkward and confused replies to questions during Diet sessions. And despite his other responsibility of ensuring the nation's cybersecurity, the minister lacked knowledge in that particular area, and many questioned his qualification to serve in the portfolio. In recent news conferences, he has frequently failed to field questions and depended on advice from bureaucrats beside him.
Perhaps it is difficult for him to continue as a Cabinet minister.
In the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Masahiro Imamura, a former minister in charge of reconstruction following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, was fired in 2017 after he said it was a "good thing" that the massive quake hit the Tohoku region in northeastern Japan. However, other gaffes by Cabinet members have been swept under the carpet as those politicians excused themselves by saying that their remarks were "misunderstood."
Earlier in this month, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso drew fire for implying that Japan's low birth rate and aging are problems caused by "those who don't have children." Aso has made gaffes time and again because the administration never had him face up to his responsibility.
Does Prime Minister Abe really think that Sakurada is fit for the job?
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2019/2/13 16:10
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PM Abe should not distort facts in his constitutional revision pitch
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said something strange about the Constitution once again. He stated that the supreme law needs to be revised because some local governments are not cooperating with the recruitment of Self-Defense Forces (SDF) personnel.
In his speech to the annual convention of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Feb. 10, the premier said that "more than 60 percent of prefectures" are refusing to cooperate in the recruitment of new SDF service members. He then insisted, "Let's end the debate over the SDF's unconstitutionality by clearly stating their existence in the Constitution."
The statement that "more than 60 percent of prefectures" are refusing cooperation is simply wrong. Municipal governments, not the nation's 47 prefectures, are requested to provide the SDF with lists of potential applicants, such as residents aged 18 or older. The premier later corrected his remarks during a Diet session.
The implementation order for the Self-Defense Forces Act states that the minister of defense may ask local governments to submit documents needed for the recruitment of SDF troops. However, it is not obligatory for the local bodies to comply. In fiscal 2017, only 36 percent of the nation's cities, wards, towns or villages provided relevant lists to the SDF.
Yet most municipal governments that do not provide those lists allow SDF recruiters to view their basic resident registers. It surely takes time and effort to copy names and addresses from the registers, but the arrangement makes sense because the municipalities have to be careful about the treatment of their residents' personal information.
If those local bodies are included, 90 percent of Japan's municipal governments provide the SDF with personal information of residents. The premier's statement that many local governments are "refusing to cooperate" is a distortion of the facts.
Former Defense Minister Shigeru Ishiba said of the prime minister's remark that he "never heard of any municipality that said they are not cooperating because of the unconstitutionality" of the defense forces. The premier's argument that writing the existence of the SDF into the supreme law would accelerate cooperation from municipalities is tantamount to sophistry.
In the convention speech, the prime minister emphasized that SDF troops put their lives on the line when their deployment is sought by local governments in times of natural disaster. Saying that municipalities therefore should cooperate with troop recruitment is mixing apples and oranges.
It is a fact that recruiting SDF troops is becoming difficult, but low birth rates and aging are primary factors, not the Constitution. To overcome this problem, the defense forces are taking steady steps such as moving up the age limit for recruitment.
In the past, the prime minister also argued that Japan needs to change the supreme law because "more than 70 percent of constitutional scholars are saying that the SDF is unconstitutional." A common component in this line of argument and his latest remark is an emotional plea based on murky information.
The leader of a country should not discuss the Constitution by distorting facts.
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2019/2/11 18:10
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Integrate gov't statistics bodies into single, independent organization
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Illicit activities associated with government statistics are emerging one after another, and efforts to correct these problems by relevant ministries are lacking.
Statistics form part of the foundation of a modern country. Their collection methods in Japan, however, have been wrong for many years with no serious efforts to find and correct the violations. This is a serious situation.
In the case of the Monthly Labor Survey conducted by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, the first of the statistics found with problems, the collection method was changed without necessary permission, and was adjusted secretly after about 15 years.
Yasuyuki Onishi, former director-general in charge of statistics policy at the labor ministry, told the House of Representatives Budget Committee that he first learned of the problem on Dec. 13, 2018. Upon hearing this remark, one has no choice but to think that irresponsibility is prevalent in the ministry.
Behind this illicit act lies the government's attitude of making light of statistics. The number of central government bureaucrats in charge of statistics halved to around 1,900 during the past decade, as run-of-the-mill jobs have been easier to ax.
The government designates 56 surveys as "fundamental statics" that provide vital information for policymaking. However, these pieces of data are collected by nine government ministries and agencies, such as the Vital Statistics demographic survey by the health ministry, the Census of Manufactures by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Labor Force Survey by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications. Moreover, many of the senior officials in charge of managing such statistical surveys are not experts on the subject, and their oversight is not necessarily effective.
The internal affairs ministry's Statistics Commission is supposed to check if those polls are conducted properly, but it is obvious that the panel was not functioning properly. For just one organization of a single ministry to watch over multiple ministries and agencies is no easy task.
Many leading countries see compiling statistics as a fundamental mission. In Britain, the Office for National Statistics, which reports to the parliament, produces most of the main statistics. This arrangement was made based on discussions about the independence of statistical organizations from the administrative branch, which date back to around 2000. In the United States, as many as 9,000 officials are involved in the making of the main surveys alone.
In response to the labor data scandals, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said he would implement "comprehensive countermeasures." What is needed is not just finding out why the wrongdoing occurred, but also reviewing the weight given to statistics. The government should consider integrating statistics making missions into a single independent agency to be monitored by a third-party organization. Getting rid of divided statistics production would be effective in making the process more efficient through the introduction of innovative data collection and analysis methods.
Japan made fatal mistakes during World War II by making light of objective numbers. The government should give more serious consideration to warnings about illicit statistics.
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2019/2/9 20:10
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US, N. Korea should avoid easy compromise on Pyongyang's nuclear, missile programs
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The leaders of the United States and North Korea are scheduled to have their second summit on Feb. 27 and 28, as U.S. President Donald Trump revealed in his State of the Union address to Congress.
The choice of Vietnam as the venue for the meeting seems to reflect the fact that the Southeast Asian country has come to develop a friendly relationship with the U.S. after a long war between the two nations. Washington also apparently has a desire for Pyongyang to see Hanoi as its economic role model.
The meeting in June last year in Singapore between President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was significant in that the leaders shook hands for the first time, but ended with an abstract agreement. Subsequent working-level negotiations have led nowhere.
A panel of experts at the United Nations has reportedly pointed out that the nuclear facility in Yongbyong in western North Korea continues operating. Meanwhile, illegal ship-to-ship transfers of goods on the sea are on the rise to evade sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council.
Despite this backdrop, why is Trump meeting with Kim again? The U.S. leader apparently wants to play up his leadership by advancing diplomacy with North Korea as his plan to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico has been bogged down by opposition from Democrats.
In the State of the Union address, the president emphasized his good personal ties with Kim, but made no reference to denuclearization agreed upon in the June 2018 summit. Moreover, Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special representative for North Korea, implied that he is not worrying too much about the timing of a declaration by Pyongyang on the country's nuclear-related facilities -- an important step in the denuclearization process.
These developments have given rise to concerns that the two leaders could settle for the disposal of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs), which the U.S. regards as a direct threat to its national security. And such an outcome may sound realistic as President Trump tends to see diplomacy in the form of business deals.
If that is the deal to be struck between the two leaders, North Korean intermediate-range missiles capable of hitting Japan would be left intact -- a situation that would deal a serious blow to the Japan-U.S. alliance.
Meanwhile, South Korea expects the U.S. to exempt South-North economic cooperation from sanctions. China and Russia are also calling for the easing of sanctions on Pyongyang. This means that even an easy compromise by the U.S. would be welcomed by most countries in the region except Japan.
Tokyo must work hard to persuade Trump that a complete disposal of all nuclear devices and missiles held by Pyongyang is vital for the peace and stability of Northeast Asia.
The U.S.-North Korea joint statement of the June 2018 summit did not call for "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization" -- an expression encapsulating the longtime U.S. position toward Pyongyang's nuclear program. President Trump appalled the world when he explained that the statement did not include the expression because "there's no time." A sloppy agreement like that is not acceptable this time around.
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2019/2/8 20:10
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N. Territories negotiation process between Japan, Russia a cause for concern
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A national rally seeking the return of four Northern Territories islands from Russia was held in Tokyo on Feb. 7.
That day marked when the Treaty of Commerce, Navigation and Delimitation between Japan and Russia was signed in 1855 and a border between the two countries was drawn north of Etorofu Island, one of the islands off the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, which have been under Russian occupation since the end of World War II. The Japanese government designated the day as "The Day of Northern Territories" in 1981 and has organized rallies every year since.
This year, however, a special atmosphere was in the air at the event site. This was because many participants felt that we are at a crossroads of seeking a full return of the islands, or settling for a return of two of the islands as a compromise.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his usual speech about "settling the territorial dispute and signing a peace treaty with Russia." He avoided expressions such as "integral part of Japan's sovereign territory" or "the attribution of the four northern islands." After the premier left the venue, a representative of former island residents stated in their speech that calls for the return of the four islands "have disappeared" to an applauding audience.
--- Unclear interpretation of San Francisco Peace Treaty
The crossroads became visible after Abe and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed in Singapore in November 2018 that they will accelerate peace treaty negotiations based on the Japan-Russia Joint Declaration of 1956, which states that the smaller two of the islands, Habomai and Shikotan, would be handed over to Japan after the conclusion of a peace treaty between Tokyo and Moscow.
An examination of post-war territorial disputes involving Japan shows that the Japanese government stance has wavered between the two options over the Northern Territories.
Japan signed the San Francisco Peace Treaty in September 1951. The accord states that Japan "renounces all right, title and claim to the Kurile Islands." During the Diet session that ratified the treaty, government officials explained that the Kurile Islands include the islands of Kunashiri and Etorofu -- the two largest islands of the Northern Territories. This view was adopted by the administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Yoshida.
Yoshida's successor, Ichiro Hatoyama, and his Cabinet started peace treaty negotiations with the Soviet Union, and introduced a new unified view of the government in February 1956 that those two larger islands were not part of the Kurile Islands. This about-face came amid pressure from the Liberal Democratic Party and the United States in the middle of the Cold War between the West and the East.
The Hatoyama Cabinet, however, compromised with the return of Habomai and Shikotan in a bid to gain the support of the Soviet Union for Japan's participation in the United Nations, and the return of Japanese detainees in Siberia. That was the essence of the 1956 joint declaration. The statement has no reference to Kunashiri or Etorofu.
It is natural for people to observe that Prime Minister Abe has pivoted toward the two-island option of seeking the return of Habomai and Shikotan. Now we would like to consider the merits and demerits of a settlement with the return of the two islands with the history of the territorial dispute in mind.
Recently, the United States has lost some of its global leadership under its "America First" doctrine, and is competing against a rising China. Confusion in the Middle East is affecting Japan's efforts to secure enough oil and natural gas.
Strengthening Japan's relationship with Russia would stabilize the surrounding regions. Tokyo would have more diplomatic options as it maintains its alliance with Washington, checking China's expansion into the oceans. Closer ties with Russia, which has large natural gas outputs, would improve Japan's energy security.
If Japan becomes closer to Russia, Europe and the U.S., which have seen ties with Moscow sour over Russia's annexation of Crimea, would question Japan's diplomatic stance. Russia has recovered from the attrition of the Cold War and now intends to show off its regained power. If Japan promised Russia that no U.S. troops would be deployed to the returned islands, such a move would be seen as a sign that Tokyo has abandoned its sovereignty over national security. A compromise in the territorial issue may damage Japan's international prestige.
After comparing all these factors and determining that a compromise has more merits than demerits, we may need to proceed in that direction. However, one has to be concerned by the ongoing negotiation process between Japan and Russia since November last year.
Japan's position on the Northern Territories is that the Soviet Union invaded the islands in the last days of World War II in violation of the bilateral neutrality treaty and is occupying them illegally.
Russia, however, stresses that the islands became Soviet territory as an outcome of World War II, and that if Japan doesn't accept that, then there will be no solution to the territorial issue.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov stated that Japan should not even use the name "Northern Territories." As if to comply, Tokyo has recently refrained from using the phrase "illegally occupied," and has presented no rebuttal to Lavrov's statement. In light of this, we cannot conclude that negotiations are proceeding on equal terms.
The problem is that Japan has not been able to hammer out a strategy to counter Moscow as it brings differences in historical perceptions to the negotiation table.
Though Abe may have steered toward the return of two islands, it is possible that Putin could separate negotiations on the territorial issue and place priority on establishing a peace treaty with Japan. Judging from the negotiations so far, it appears that Japan is giving up ground.
However, if a peace treaty alone is advanced without nailing down to whom the four islands belong, then Japan will lose leverage to move territorial negotiations forward, and it will become difficult for Japan to secure the return of even two of the islands.
It is dangerous for Japan to continue to pitch forward like this. It must calmly analyze the situation, and forge a renewed strategy.
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2019/2/7 14:10
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Little girl's death demands probe of child protection system failures
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A new shocking fact has emerged in the death of 10-year-old Mia Kurihara, a fourth grader at an elementary school in the city of Noda in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.
The prefectural government's Kashiwa child consultation center near Noda sent Mia home despite harboring suspicions about the veracity of her statement denying he was abusing her. Moreover, officials at the center did not take action even after Mia told them that the document was a lie. Why did they continue to make critical mistakes? An examination of the facts is needed.
The center placed Mia under temporary protective custody after she replied to a November 2017 school bullying survey that her father was being violent toward her. About two months later, the municipal board of education made the mistake of handing a copy of Mia's reply to the father.
Center officials met with the father in February 2018 to determine whether Mia should be returned to her parents or not. The father demanded the daughter be handed over, insisting that he would "take her home as early as today" and threatening to sue the officials for defamation. He then showed them a statement he said Mia had written. "My claim that I was hit by my father is a lie," it reads, adding, "I don't want to see people from the child consultation center anymore."
The sentences did not look like the work of a fourth grader, but the consultation center decided, without confirming with Mia, to return her home. This was the first critical mistake.
The following March, Mia confided to officials from the consultation center who visited her school that she penned the statement in question after her mother showed her an email from the father ordering his daughter to write it.
Having an abuse victim write a statement denying the abuse is an abusive act. Why didn't the center take action to protect her at that moment? Shouldn't the center have cooperated with police and questioned the father about the details? This was the second mistake.
Center officials now say that they were "aware that it was highly likely that she was told to write the letter." They turned a blind eye.
Every time the Child Welfare Act was revised, efforts were made to strengthen coordination between child consultation centers, schools and police departments. Consultation centers will eventually have more experts, more training and more lawyers. The administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says it intends to increase center staffers by 2,890 in four years.
But is it enough just to beef up consultation centers and strengthen coordination among relevant organizations? A thorough investigation should be carried out to identify problems in the centers, local governments and national government programs. Pouring water into a bucket with a hole in the bottom cannot protect children.
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2019/2/6 14:10
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Labor unions, businesses should work toward broader pay raises to boost economy
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The "spring offensive" for wage negotiations between businesses and labor unions for this year started off with a meeting of top officials from both sides on Feb. 5.
The powerful business group Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) is striving to move away from specific pay-raise goals indicated by the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in past negotiations. This year's focus is on whether more companies, especially small- and medium-sized corporations or employers of non-regular workers, will increase overall salaries substantially. Wage talk negotiators have a tough job ahead of them.
Both labor unions and employers agree that pay raises are necessary. But they differ substantially on how to achieve the goal.
Keidanren intends to shift from its traditional position of seeking base wage rises across the board to offering "comprehensive improvements" in working conditions including flexible work hours. Behind this approach lie the business lobby's concerns about a possible slowdown of the global economy due to the U.S.-China trade war and its desire to evade an increase of overhead expenses from pay raises.
The Japanese Labor Union Confederation (Rengo), Japan's largest labor union federation, is seeking around a 4 percent raise while focusing on correcting disparities among workers. The alliance encourages member unions to negotiate specific amounts of monthly salaries they desire, because realizing across-the-board base pay raises does not narrow the existing pay gap between workers for major corporations and those with small- and medium-sized employers.
For the difference to shrink, smaller companies need to achieve greater overall salary hikes than before. Almost 70 percent of Japanese workers are hired by small firms. Wage increases should spread beyond a limited number of major corporations with good business performances so that greater domestic consumption would shore up the economy.
Substantial monthly pay raises are vital to prevent a business decline after the planned hike of the consumption tax from 8 percent to 10 percent in October.
For several years now, corporate profits have been reaching record levels. Corporations had total savings of 446 trillion yen in fiscal 2017, up 40 trillion yen from the previous year. Smaller companies have also accumulated more internal reserves than in the past.
In contrast, the labor share of national income, which shows the ratio of personnel costs against earnings, remains at a 43-year low -- the result of an increase in the number of non-regular workers with lower pay levels. Now is the time to change the framework of curbing employees' salaries while increasing corporate savings.
Improving the treatment of non-regular workers, who make up 40 percent of the nation's workforce, is also an important issue.
The introduction of more foreign workers from April is considered by some as a means to lower the wages of part-time workers. Labor unions and employers should cooperate to set a standard for raising wages and improving working conditions for irregular workers.
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2019/2/5 16:10
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Diet must keep check on gov't's administrative branch over labor data scandal
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Diet deliberations on the labor statistics scandal are currently underway in the House of Representatives Budget Committee, and opposition parties are demanding that relevant officials be called in for questioning. We expect the legislature to show its true value as a check on the administrative branch of government.
What is difficult to understand is that the ruling camp is reluctant to respond to the opposition's demand to have a senior labor ministry official attend the panel as an unsworn witness.
The trustworthiness of government statistics must not come into question, as state policies are based on the data. And yet, problems have been found in 24 of the government's 56 key statistics.
Of these 24, the problems with the labor ministry's Monthly Labor Survey of wages and working hours and the Basic Survey on Wage Structure were particularly bad in that the correct methods for data collection in those surveys were not followed. Why, for so many years, was valuable data on the state of labor among citizens treated so poorly?
With the Monthly Labor Survey of wages and working hours, for example, labor ministry officials in charge of the problem data began correcting the figures in secrecy last year. As a result, the rate of wage increases grew. Was the move a way to hide past irregularities, or was it an effort to window-dress wage statistics?
Unless the truth is revealed, there is no way of preventing a recurrence. But even after the irregularities were found within the labor ministry, bureaucrats took their time reporting them to Labor, Health and Welfare Minister Takumi Nemoto. With the Basic Survey on Wage Structure, ministry officials were aware that surveys that were meant to be conducted through researcher visits to survey subjects were instead conducted by mail, but failed to report the fact in an extensive review carried out by the government.
If the administrative branch of the government is unable to clear up doubts, the Diet must step in. It is only natural that the labor ministry official who was in charge of the surveys in question be summoned to the Diet as a witness.
Yasuyuki Onishi, former director-general in charge of statistics policy at the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, is a key figure in the scandal involving the ministry's Monthly Labor Survey of wages and working hours. Onishi is suspected of knowing if organizational efforts were made at the ministry to hide the scandal. He was removed from his post on Feb. 1 over his suspected involvement in yet another scandal over the ministry's wage survey.
But the ruling coalition is against having the bureaucrat questioned in the Diet, citing the fact that he is no longer the director-general in charge of statistics policy. Making such an excuse only reinforces suspicions that the government and the ruling camp conspired and dismissed the official so that he would not be forced to stand before the committee.
The Monthly Labor Survey scandal, in which an incorrect data collection method caused tens of billions of yen in payment shortfalls for work-related benefits, was investigated by a special inspection committee set up by the ministry.
The panel was headed by Yoshio Higuchi, director of the Japan Institute for Labor Policy and Training, a public body supervised by the labor ministry. The ruling camp accepted the questioning of Higuchi at the budget committee meeting, but only in his role as institute chief and not head of the panel, meaning he would not answer questions relating to the panel. What is the ruling bloc going to such lengths to hide?
Last year's ordinary Diet session was rocked by favoritism allegations involving the government and two school operators, Moritomo Gakuen and Kake Educational Institution. Much time was spent on a tug-of-war over who should be questioned between the opposition and ruling camps. After much ado, the falsification of public Finance Ministry documents made in connection with those cases still remains unresolved.
The labor statistics case is yet another significant case in which bureaucrats changed the rules without authorization. Party affiliation should not be an issue in pursuing this. Is the ruling party going to repeat the same mistakes they made last year?
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2019/2/4 16:10
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Foreign trainee program needs total revamp
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The government cancelled its approval of the training program at Mitsubishi Motors Corp. for Philippine technical intern trainees after the major auto maker was found to have made the trainees work along car assembly lines for years although they were accepted to carry out welding training. As punishment, the company has been prohibited from accepting foreign trainees for five years.
Such misconduct is heinous, and many trainees had to go home or transfer to other companies. The automaker deserves the tough punishment.
This case has yet again revealed the structural problem of the technical intern trainee program. Under the current arrangement, a management organization is supposed to accept trainees, place them in companies and guide and monitor such firms.
But many management bodies are run with money from those companies or their industries. This relationship makes it difficult for those management bodies to play their designed roles.
Under the new immigration law to be implemented in April, a body called a "registration support organization" will play a similar role as management organizations, for foreign workers to be accepted under new residency statuses.
The government must learn lessons from the Mitsubishi Motors case by investigating if the management organization properly played its intended role.
The violation of the training program emerged because the Organization for Technical Intern Training inspected the company. The organization was established based on the 2017 Technical Intern Training Act. But the organization has limited human resources, and cannot inspect every suspected violation. Japan now has more than 300,000 technical trainees, and the latest case is likely to be just the tip of the iceberg.
The government intends to maintain the training program as a source of candidates for new residency statuses for foreign workers to be introduced in April. The current training program faced tough criticism during the last extraordinary session of the Diet for its low pay and long working hours. In the latest punishment, the government apparently wanted to emphasize its tough posture against violators by exposing a case involving a major corporation.
However, the original purpose of the trainee program to transfer Japan's technical expertise to developing companies remains in name only, and the whole system is used to make up for labor shortages. This is the undeniable reality. We renew our demand that the government abolish the trainee program and consolidate residency statuses for menial workers.
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2019/2/2 14:10
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Better coordination among relevant bodies needed to save abused children
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Why couldn't we save the life of a girl who made a desperate plea for help?
"My father is violent towards me," she wrote. "Teacher, can't you do something?"
These were the words of Mia Kurihara, a fourth grader of an elementary school in the city of Noda in Chiba Prefecture east of Tokyo. They were written in her reply to a school survey on bullying more than a year before her death at age 10.
However, the school and the city's board of education passed on Mia's reply to her father, the very person behind the violence, bowing to his intimidation. It would have been easy to imagine that the father, after learning about her complaints, would become more likely to abuse Mia. The school -- an institution supposed to protect children -- committed this unbelievable act. Its responsibility is extremely grave.
Mia moved to Noda from the city of Itoman in the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa in August 2017 with her parents. When the school conducted the survey in November that year, promising the children that their answers would be kept secret, the girl complained about her father's abusive behavior. The school reported her case to the child consultation center in the neighboring city of Kashiwa via the Noda city government. The center placed her in protective custody for a time.
Later, Mia was released to the care of a relative, and the protective custody was lifted. The father obtained a copy of his daughter's reply to the school survey, and moved her to another elementary school in the same city.
From March last year to January this year, when Mia was killed, no official from the new school, the municipal government or the child consultation center visited the girl's home to check on her status. Before Mia died she was out of school for almost a month, which should have set off alarm bells. Why didn't anyone follow up on her case?
When on Jan. 22 officials from the city, consultation center and other bodies met to discuss the situation of local children requiring protection, Mia was not mentioned. Two days later, her body was found at her home. The gathering was designed for relevant organizations to coordinate their responses to abuse. It did not function as intended.
In the case of Yua Funato, a 5-year-old girl who was allegedly abused to death by her parents in March last year in Tokyo's Meguro Ward, a child consultation center in the western Japan prefecture of Kagawa had previously placed her under protective custody. But the center handed her back to the parents in the end, allowing them to move to Tokyo, where Yua died.
One has to suspect that relevant organizations fail to coordinate their actions because they have weak awareness of their roles and they try to avoid confrontations with parents at all cost.
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2019/2/1 16:10
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Japan, EU economic partnership to support int'l order in era of US protectionism
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The Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between Japan and the European Union (EU) has taken effect. The two economies account for around 30 percent of global GDP, surpassing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade zone that came into existence in late 2018. We want this enormous new free trade sphere to lead efforts to rebuild the international order, which has been in confusion due to American highhandedness.
The EPA abolishes tariffs on a wide range of products, benefitting both Japan and Europe. Japanese consumers will be able to buy European wines and cheeses cheaper. The agreement will provide a tailwind for Japanese car exports to Europe. The government estimates that the accord will expand the economy by over 5 trillion yen. Efforts should be made to spread the benefits across Japan while paying attention to impacts on farmers.
The agreement will serve as a seawall against protectionist pressure in upcoming trade talks between Japan and the United States. Japan lowered agricultural tariffs under the TPP. Now tariffs on European farm products have been lowered, putting American competitors, who are outside the TPP, at a disadvantage. It is possible that U.S. negotiators will refrain from making unilateral demands out of a desire for an early settlement.
The agreement is also important for the EU, which has been shaken by negotiations on Britain's departure from the union and the rise of anti-EU political parties.
The EU estimates that its exports to Japan will grow by more than 30 percent. With the spread of benefits from the free-trade accord, people may recognize once more the significance of economic integration. Such a development may help strengthen the union.
The accord is important for the international community, too.
The global economy is on the verge of tipping into decline because of the trade war between the U.S. and China. Improving the Japanese and European economies with the free-trade agreement will contribute to worldwide stability.
The combined economic output of the TPP and the EPA participants reaches almost 40 percent of the global total. These multinational frameworks spanning the Pacific and Europe can play a vital role in rebuilding the free-trade system after the revision of the U.S.-Canada-Mexico North American Free Trade Agreement with protectionist twists.
Japan and Europe place importance on multinational cooperation on security and global environmental issues. The postwar international order has been supported by the United States, Europe and Japan, but with Washington assuming an America First posture, Tokyo and Brussels have greater roles to play. Japan's distance with Europe had been greater compared to that with the U.S., a military ally, but the EPA can be the foundation to deepen collaboration between Japan and the EU.
Next week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, a leading European figure, will visit Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The two leaders are expected to confirm the importance of cooperation under the new economic agreement.
Japan will host a summit of the Group of 20 major countries and regions in June. The prime minister is responsible for leading international cooperation by coordinating closely with countries such as Germany.
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2019/1/31 18:10
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PM Abe should lead efforts to correct labor stats problem
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Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's responses to questions asked by party leaders in the Diet over the labor data scandal exposed his lack of a sense of urgency about the long-term distortion of fundamental statistics used for the government's policy decisions.
The prime minister has apologized over the scandal saying that he understands "the grave responsibility" associated with the problem. However, he is not leading the investigation into the issue or the drafting of preventive measures and has farmed out the whole affair to Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Takumi Nemoto.
The scandal over the Monthly Labor Survey of wages and working hours is the ministry's own making. Some 23 out of 56 fundamental statistics have been found to have used improper procedures, and the problem now engulfs the entire government.
The premier should play a leading role in removing the source of the problem. Now is the time to consider fundamental corrective measures, such as the consolidation of statistics experts who are now hired by respective ministries, into a single organization.
The public's distrust in the government is only growing after the denial of an organizational cover-up of the data scandal by a ministry special inspection committee based on a shoddy probe.
The panel had eight experts as members, and ostensibly interviewed 37 people, including former and current labor officials, as a third-party body. However, interviews with 25 of them were conducted by ministry officials. It cannot be described as a serious effort to get to the bottom of the problem.
Labor minister Nemoto bears a serious responsibility for his attempt to bury the case by accepting the results of the investigation without proper checks.
Why was the illicit collection method used in the Monthly Labor Survey, and why did the problem continue for so long? Why did ministry experts fail to adjust the data for statistical correction? Why did they start correcting data in secrecy last year?
The opposition camp suspects that the adjustments last year were intended to make the wage growth rate appear higher than reality. In his Diet questioning, Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki claimed this arrangement was "wage forgery."
Removing such doubt is the responsibility of the government. Abe told the Diet that he "never used the (wage growth rate) figure for 2018 alone to emphasize the results of the Abenomics" policy mix of monetary easing and stimulus measures. This statement doesn't really explain anything.
It has to be pointed out that the scandal continued even during the administration of the now-defunct Democratic Party of Japan, which has splintered into some of the current opposition parties. Many politicians, regardless of their party affiliations, are responsible for the failure to control bureaucrats.
If the executive branch cannot find out what happened and why, the legislative branch should conduct a thorough investigation by setting up a special committee.
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2019/1/30 18:10
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Companies should make greater efforts to raise salaries with gov't support
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If continuous economic expansion is not accompanied by sufficient wage growth, it cannot make people feel that it's real.
The government on Jan. 29 expressed a view that the Japanese economy has expanded for six years and two months in a row, marking the longest postwar growth period since December 2012.
A long-term economic upturn itself is something desirable. The current expansion began when Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Cabinet were sworn in, and stock prices and employment have improved.
The question is how much have people been able to feel the prosperity through the expansion?
Many of the new jobs created are low paying irregular employment in sectors facing labor shortages. The wage hike last year was revised downward after the government's labor data corruption scandal was found and corrected. The average salary per person, including full-time employees, has gone down by approximately 3 percent when adjusted for price changes, from the level before the boom began.
Consumption is stagnating, and the growth rate is low. During the current expansion, the Japanese economy has grown by only 1.2 percent per year in real terms on average. The figure is lower than the 1.6 percent growth recorded during the expansion from 2002 through 2008, which was the previous low since the end of World War II.
The Japanese economy has been supported during this growth phase by steady economies overseas, including the United States, and exporting companies have enjoyed the largest share of this boom. Thanks to the qualitative and quantitative monetary easing of a "different dimension" by the Bank of Japan, the yen has been week and is driving exports, bringing good profits to companies.
The total retained earnings by companies in Japan reached a record 446 trillion yen in fiscal 2017, up more than 160 trillion yen from the level marked before the introduction of the "Abenomics" economic policy mix. In contrast, the wage share, which indicates the ratio of national income allocated for salaries, remained at 66 percent, the lowest figure in 43 years.
Japan now faces major aging and depopulation issues. Companies are reluctant to raise wages because they don't want to expand their operations in a domestic market that is going to shrink.
What is needed is a response reflecting the maturity of the Japanese economy. During the period of high economic growth after the war, wages continued to increase naturally. Now, special efforts must be made to redistribute profits earned by companies to people so that the economy can be stronger.
Overseas economies may shrink due to the trade war between the U.S. and China. With the planned hike in the consumption tax in October, it is more important than ever to make the foundations of the economy resilient.
We want corporations to make active efforts to raise pay levels in the annual "spring offensive" wage negotiations. Investing in people should contribute to corporate expansion.
The government should also create an environment conducive to pay raises. It needs to support companies to improve their productivities through the promotion of artificial intelligence and deregulation.
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2019/1/29 18:10
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PM Abe's policy speech praises 'Abenomics,' lacks long-term vision for new era
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The ordinary session of the Diet began on Jan. 28, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe made his policy speech in the plenary sessions of both chambers of the national legislature.
The Heisei era will end at the end of April, and a new Emperor will rise to the Imperial throne on May 1. This Diet session will be a place for discussions connecting Heisei with the next era. Did the speech measure up to the challenges of the times? Unfortunately, we have to say no.
In the first half of his statement, Abe, as usual, kept praising his pet policy of "Abenomics" stimulus measures, citing detailed figures such as "at least a 10-percent growth of the economy during the past six years," as well as a "28-trillion-yen increase in national and regional tax revenue combined."
But we cannot forget the fact that the reliability of these numbers is on shaky ground following the emergence of a labor data corruption scandal centering on the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The premier apologized for the scandal, saying that it "damaged trust in the social safety net." But the problem is not limited to the social security system, including unemployment insurance, which paid people less than they were entitled to because of erroneous data figures.
The sloppy handling of statistics, which are the foundation for policies, substantially damages trust in the administration and the government as a whole, as did the recent document falsification scandal at the Finance Ministry. One has to wonder how serious Abe is in facing up to this situation.
The premier was forced to shift away from his prime agenda in the speech by dedicating less time to his signature issues including constitutional revision, and instead spent a lot of time on subjects tightly linked to the lives of the people, such as the economy and social security. It was a reflection of his focus on the nationwide local elections to be held in spring and the House of Councillors race to be held in summer. In general, he simply emphasized that his policies have been effective, and therefore he will stay on the same track.
Abe did not present a long-term vision for the new era, including measures to deal with the population decline and steps to establish an all-generation social security system.
Even if the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) continues to win future Diet elections, Prime Minister Abe can only stay in the position of LDP president until fall of 2021.
Because of this deadline, the premier emphasized that his diplomatic undertakings are facing a "time for completion." However, the reality in this area is that he is running out of effective options in territorial and peace negotiations with Russia and the settlement of the abduction issue involving North Korea.
It will not be possible for the prime minister to bring his tasks to completion without a humble review of his 6-year-long management of both domestic and international policies, including its dark side.
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2019/1/28 16:11
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Bank of Japan's monetary policy is in dire straits
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The Bank of Japan (BOJ) is between a rock and a hard place over its quantitative and qualitative monetary easing policy almost six years after its introduction. The central bank can neither take a step toward normalization, nor carry out additional easing.
Last week, the BOJ announced its quarterly outlook for economic activities and prices, lowering its inflation forecast for fiscal 2019 to 0.9 percent, down 0.5 of a percentage point from its estimate in October 2018. In April last year, the BOJ foresaw the figure to be 1.8 percent, meaning that it is cutting down the forecast at every review.
The main reason cited by the central bank for the downward revision was a plunge in oil prices, saying that it was a temporary situation. However, the bank's forecast for the consumer price index hike is 1.4 percent for fiscal 2020, down again from the bank's goal of 2 percent. Many BOJ Policy Board members, who made the prediction, recognize that the inflation rate would go down further.
When a central bank changes its inflation forecast downward successively or drastically, it usually tries to shore up prices by monetary easing. The BOJ, however, does not intend to take such action.
Meanwhile, the opportunity to exit from quantitative and qualitative monetary easing seems to have been missed.
The inflation rate is far lower than 2 percent, but it is not deflation. The government is apparently poised to announce its view that Japan's current economic expansion is the longest after World War II.
Preparations should have been started much earlier to return the monetary policy from crisis mode to normal mode. However, turning around such drastic monetary easing would bring confusion to the market, even though temporarily. This factor has prevented such preparations.
The problem now is that the international economic boom, which has helped the Japanese economy to grow, is declining because of the trade row between the United States and China, and a slowdown in the Chinese economy. The hurdle for normalizing the monetary policy is expected to grow higher.
However, maintaining the current easing policy or strengthening it would bring serious side effects. The negative interest rates of the past three years have already taken a toll on the profit level of financial institutions and the management of pension funds.
BOJ Gov. Haruhiko Kuroda claims that the momentum toward the price stabilization goal of 2 percent inflation is still being maintained, but his statement is far from convincing after repeated cuts in inflation forecasts. The central bank should face up to the reality of lost trust in its policies.
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2019/1/26 18:10
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Gov't should attach greater importance to own statistics
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Government statistics, which track issues like economic trends, form an important component in the foundations for government policies. However, the government has made light of such data as a recent government review of statistical surveys exposed.
Of the 56 fundamental statistics that the government deems especially important, almost 40 percent, or 22 indicators, were found to have involved inappropriate handling of data, a probe by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications has found. The ministry is the head agency in ensuring the quality of government statistics.
The review was carried out in response to the labor statistics scandal at the labor ministry that caused tens of billions of yen in work-related benefit payment shortfalls affecting tens of millions of people. Now that we know that problems with public stats are more widespread, the government should be ashamed of its lax attitude that allowed the shoddy handling of those statistics that was rampant across ministries and agencies.
According to the review, construction work surveys used the wrong data reported by companies, and survey targets in sales statistics were changed without informing the internal affairs minister as legally required. It is suspected that 21 of the 22 statistics found with problems violated the Statistics Act.
Internal affairs ministry officials say that those are simple mistakes, and do not involve wrongdoings and serious problems affecting the lives of Japanese as was the case with the labor stats scandal. Such a view, however, is too naive.
Fundamental statistics are used in calculating important indices such as gross domestic product (GDP) and serve as a basis for policymaking. Mistakes with such data can lead to mistakes in policy decisions.
The government is reviewing 233 other statistics, which may contain far more issues than the fundamental indicators.
If the spread of improper data handling was made clear through the additional examination, Japanese statistics would lose international trust. Such a development would discourage foreign investors from putting their money in Japan.
Behind these problems exists a shortage of national statistical experts, according to observers. There were around 1,900 staffers in charge of statistics at central government bodies as of April 2018, about half the figure of 10 years ago and far smaller than the United States or European countries. Such officials can easily be axed because of the Japanese government's low level of awareness about statistics.
National bureaucrats are unwilling to take up statistical assignments because emphasizing their achievements in such posts is not easy, and they tend to get transferred to other jobs in short periods of time. These assignments require experts, but bureaucrats are not eager to train officials in charge so that they can acquire required expertise.
This sloppy handling of statistics, which serve as the basis of policy formation, seems to have something in common with the disregard for public documents, common property belonging to the people, shown by Finance Ministry officials who were caught falsifying records approved by their superiors. Those cases all emerged under the watch of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's administration.
Making light of data only deepens people's mistrust in the government. The authorities should realize the importance of statistics, improve relevant organizations and better cultivate human resources.
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2019/1/25 14:10
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Gov't statements on support for foreign workers, local bodies still paper thin
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The government's explanation on how to accept more foreign workers still lacks detail, though the measure is being promoted as a national policy.
In out-of-session meetings of the committees on judicial affairs of the Diet's two chambers on Jan. 23, testimonies given by government officials left us with growing concerns about the country's preparedness to accept more overseas workers from April as planned. Particularly worrisome was their responses to questions on the "comprehensive measures" designed to make our society more inclusive. The package contains 126 programs to support newcomers to Japan in areas such as medicine, residence services and social security.
An opposition member asked about the number and cost of programs that local governments are expected to shoulder. The head of Justice Ministry's Immigration Bureau did not respond with clear numbers, and Justice Minister Takashi Yamashita only stated that he "would like to communicate and share information with local governments." As those measures cost money, prefectures and municipalities have a strong interest in them. The testimonies from top officials of the lead agency on this issue are far from comforting.
When the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act was revised in 1990 to accept more South Americans of Japanese descent, the central government farmed out most of the support programs for those newcomers to local governments, including Japanese-language education and housing assistance. Local governments are mindful of this history and worry that Tokyo will do the same thing again.
The centerpiece of the "comprehensive measures" is the introduction of one-stop consultation centers for foreign residents at 100 municipalities across Japan. This plan, too, is not free from concern.
Under the current arrangement, local governments will set up those centers, and the central government will provide financial assistance. It is understandable to allow prefectures and municipalities to call the shots as they can better respond to local needs.
However, providing multilingual consultations at those centers, a goal envisioned by the central government, is no easy task. Local governments that have already struggled to provide education and medical services in multiple languages emphasize the difficulty of finding people with necessary skills, such as interpreters.
During the Diet hearings, officials repeated many times that the central government will help. If they intend to just throw money at the issue and let the local governments do the hard work, that's not helping. The central government must lead to solve challenges when national bureaucrats have far greater resources than their local counterparts.
House of Representatives Speaker Tadamori Oshima said in a lecture late last year that the government's method of using Justice Ministry orders to set the details of the immigration system changes to accept more foreign workers is "a bit rough." He added that the government is "held accountable to explain" its plans. The recess hearings were held after he made these complaints, but the government officials' statements at those hearings are far from convincing.
We want the Diet to continue exercising diligent oversight on the administrative branch's handling of issues that have been put on the back burner.
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2019/1/24 16:10
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More in-depth probe needed over labor ministry stats scandal
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An investigation by the labor ministry's special inspection panel fell far short of getting to the bottom of the corrupt statistics scandal at the ministry, which caused tens of billions of yen in payment shortfalls for work-related benefits affecting tens of millions of workers.
The finding by the committee comprising lawyers and scholars, which was announced on Jan. 22, presented statements by officials involved and did not provide evidence or detailed data backing up their claims.
In response, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare announced the punishment of 22 current and former officials including its top bureaucrat over the matter. It's clear that the government wants to settle the case as soon as possible.
The statistics in question are from the ministry's Monthly Labor Survey that checks wages and work hours. Some of the published data is deemed tainted because ministry officials began collecting information on only around one-third of some 1,400 employers with 500 or more workers in Tokyo starting January 2004, although they were supposed to cover all of such companies. Moreover, the bureaucrats failed to apply necessary statistical adjustments to make the results of the sampling survey acceptable. As a result, improper data had been published for 15 years.
The inspection panel's report explained that ministry officials committed the act because they tried to "accommodate requests from prefectural governments to ease their burden in the face of many complaints from the companies."
However, Tokyo Metropolitan Government officials denied that they made such a request. Panel members did not interview officials of the metro government or polled companies, but they concluded that they "could not confirm an organizational cover-up" at the ministry of the stats problem. There is no way they could have revealed the truth after only investigating for a week.
Whether the illicit practices at the ministry were arbitrary or not can only be judged by checking the selection process and the scale of some 500 companies the officials had picked as the targets of the sampling survey. The opposition camp is demanding the submission of original statistical data or information about the companies picked out to the Diet.
The labor ministry began applying statistical adjustments to the sampled data from January 2018, but chose not to make the change public. As a result of this adjustment, wage levels for the last year went up. The development corresponds to the arguments made by the administration of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that the pay rise was an achievement of the "Abenomics" policy mix of economic stimulus and financial easing measures.
However, the rate of wage growth for 2018 would be up to 0.7 percentage of a point lower should adjustments be made to data from 2012 and later. This can trigger suspicions that inappropriate surveys and adjustments were carried out with some ulterior motives.
The panel report explained that the ministry manager in charge did not announce the introduction of statistical adjustments in January last year because the person thought that the changes were "within the margin of error." This is the core issue of the entire scandal, and a more detailed explanation about this process is necessary.
The Monthly Labor Survey provides some of the fundamental statistics used to calculate gross domestic product (GDP) and affects government policies and corporate activities. Many more questions remain unanswered, and a thorough search for the truth is required.
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