Press Conference by the Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)

Q&As

(Abridged)

REPORTER: I would like to change the subject. In today’s policy speech, the Prime Minister called on Diet members to fulfill with responsibilities should hold discussions squarely and openly to produce solutions, never evading the issues before us. What is the expected schedule for the constitutional revisions?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY HAGIUDA: The schedule? Neither the Prime Minister nor the Government is speaking with any clear roadmap in mind for constitutional revisions. During his first administration, Prime Minister Abe demonstrated leadership in laying the groundwork, including the national referendum legislation and the legislation to give voting rights to people aged 18 or older, which was passed recently. In a sense, public opinion regarding constitutional revisions should be ripened and not be steered by whoever is Prime Minister at the time. The Prime Minister has always stated that going forward, he would like to entrust the discussions to the political parties, and furthermore, entrust the discussions to the Commissions on the Constitution at the Diet. It is not as though a schedule for constitutional revisions will be presented to the people under the helm of the Prime Minister’s Office or with the Prime Minister leading the effort. We hope that thorough discussions take place under the leadership of the members of the Diet, who represent the people, including discussions on where to start, how revisions would be made, and whether revisions are necessary. If anything, we have our hopes pinned on the party and Diet discussions.

(Abridged)

REPORTER: In today’s policy speech, there was reference to bringing about equal pay for equal work. How does the Government intend to go about doing this?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY HAGIUDA: A vision for bringing about equal pay for equal work was included in the proposal that was jointly submitted by our party and the Japan Innovation Party, and was passed into law during the previous session of the Diet. We have continued to study and review this matter. While the Prime Minister did in fact touch upon this matter in today’s policy speech, there are still many matters that need to be reviewed, including what would be used to make this comparison. To present the general direction we are aiming towards, a broad framework was presented for considering various work arrangements. It does not mean that the Government will immediately draft legislation or start designing the system.

REPORTER: Will the “Plan to Realize the Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens” go into what equal pay for equal work will entail?

DEPUTY CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY HAGIUDA: The policy speech indicated that the Government intends to touch upon how to bring about equal pay for equal work in the “Plan to Realize the Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens.” We perceive that bringing about equal pay for equal work is critically important for expanding diverse work arrangements. In principle, we believe it is a good idea that the same remuneration is paid for doing the same work. We consider that we need to move in this direction in order to squarely face the issues of permanent and non-permanent employees, including facilitating women’s active role and the employment of young people. We have been studying the systems of other countries, and we believe we need to conduct further reviews on how the experience and weight of responsibility of employees should be assessed and considered. In compiling the “Plan to Realize the Dynamic Engagement of All Citizens,” we will listen to the opinions of a variety of stakeholders in order to further brush up the system.

(Abridged)