[Provisional translation]

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held the ninth meeting of the Council for the Realization of Work Style Reform, at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, there was a discussion on the Work Style Reform Action Plan.

Based on the discussion, the Prime Minister said,

“Today, we had a discussion on the compilation of the Work Style Reform Action Plan based on the draft plan.

The proposal submitted today through the Government, labor, and management comes in the wake of the historic labor-management agreement made on March 13 between Keidanren and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (RENGO) on the regulation of the maximum hours of overtime work. I asked Chairman Sakakibara to adjust this agreement further, and received his understanding that the maximum hours of overtime work per month should be set to under 100 hours per month. I want to compile the Action Plan based on this policy.

The maximum hours of overtime work permitted is in principle regulated at 45 hours per month and 360 hours per year. Labor and management came to an agreement through efforts aimed at avoiding work contracts with the maximum limits of overtime work. In order to support this, the Government will amend the Labor Standards Law, set out guidelines, and create a system to offer advice and guidance even in cases where 100 hours of overtime work has not been reached.

In terms of the remaining crucial issues, there is the issue of treatment regarding automobile driving work and construction work, which are exempt from Ministerial Ordinances on long-standing regulations related to overtime work. I have received a report on the state of coordination related to this today from Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ishii.

In order to secure industry workers, I want to break down long-established customs, and while setting grace periods, work toward the application of overtime work regulations in line with the actual state of the way people work.

I would like to ask for the continued coordination work of Minister Ishii and also want to receive the full support of relevant ministers and the manufacturing sector, given the need for complete governmental back-up for this work, including cooperation with those in the shipping sector and construction industry.

We heard valuable opinions today from Minister for Internal Affairs and Communications Takaichi and other Council members. I would like your continued efforts to reflect those opinions into the Action Plan to the full extent possible.”