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On June 3, 2020, the Prime Minister held the eighth planning meeting on a social security system oriented to all generations at the Prime Minister’s Office.

At the meeting, the participants held discussions on the minimum wage and the Outline of Measures to Cope with Society with Declining Birthrate.

Following the discussions, the Prime Minister said,

“Today, with the participation of representatives of employers and labor unions, we first discussed how the minimum wage should be for this fiscal year.

Wage increases are key to realizing the virtuous cycle of growth and distribution, and the Abe administration has made proactive efforts in this regard. In this regard, while the minimum wage had increased only by a national weighted average of 86 yen in the 10 years prior to the inauguration of my administration, it has increased by 152 yen in the seven years since. Furthermore, it increased by 27 yen last fiscal year, marking the greatest ever wage increase under the current system. In addition, last year, a Cabinet decision was made on a policy of seeking to attain a national weighted average of 1,000 yen at an early date. As wage increases are important for promoting virtuous economic cycles, we will firmly uphold this policy while improving business relations for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Meanwhile, as we have discussed today, the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had an enormous impact on employment and the economy. Now, it is an urgent issue to protect employment, with the public and private sectors exerting every effort together.

I would like Minister Kato to proceed with considerations on this matter while taking into consideration the difficult circumstances facing micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises.

Afterwards, with regard to the Outline of Measures to Cope with Society with Declining Birthrate, on which a Cabinet decision was made last month, we received a report from Minister Eto and held a discussion. The problem of the declining birthrate is intertwined with various factors that prevent people from realizing their hopes for marriage, childbirth, and childrearing. Going forward, we will make efforts to remove each of these factors persistently and achieve a desired birthrate of 1.8 children per woman as soon as possible.

I would like Minister Nishimura to proceed with considerations towards the preparation of the interim and final reports.”