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On March 1, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a press occasion at the Prime Minister’s Office.

Regarding the work style reform bills and other matters, the Prime Minister said,

“I have stated that the early passage of the budget is itself the most important measure for stimulating the economy. Deliberations in the House of Councillors are set to begin from tomorrow. We will take firm steps to facilitate the passage of the budget as soon as possible.

By advancing work style reform, we will enable flexible working styles. This will allow people faced with various circumstances, such as those engaged in child rearing or nursing care, to lead fulfilling lives and work with a sense of purpose. That is the kind of Japan I wish to create. I intend to carry out the necessary reforms for doing so at the current session of the Diet.

In advancing these efforts, however, we have ended up creating doubt among the people in relation to data on the discretionary working system. In response, I have instructed that we completely remove all items related to the discretionary working system from the bills we will submit to this session of the Diet. I have decided that we will reopen discussions once the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare has a firm grasp of the situation. Nevertheless, work style reform is extremely important. In the present set of reform bills, we intend to limit the maximum hours of overtime work permitted, with penalties attached, so as to eliminate the custom of working long and excessive hours. Furthermore, we plan to realize equal pay for equal work, in order to eradicate the disparities between regular and non-regular employment. Finally, we also intend to introduce a “high-level professionals” system. We would like to propose a set of draft bills covering these three elements. Our aim is to submit bills related to these three pillars, which are separate from the matter of the discretionary working system.

In the current session of the Diet, we intend to thoroughly ensure the passage of the work style reform bills. During this Diet session, we hope to make progress on the issue of work style reform, which is one of the greatest challenges that Abenomics takes on.”

In addition, the Prime Minister said,
“Regarding these three pillars, after removing the relevant items, we will first complete the necessary procedures within the ruling parties, before making a Cabinet decision and submitting the bills.”