Japan looks into distributing wage profits

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has instructed related officials to draw up proposals for priority issues by early November, which include improving productivity through growth strategies and distributing wage profits to increase income levels.

Leading the panel, Kishida, alongside 15 business leaders, researchers and members of his Cabinet will discuss policy measures for economic growth and the redistribution of wealth. 

He highlighted that investing in people through the cooperation between the public and private sectors is an urgent task, and highlighted the importance of strengthening economic security to establish a powerful supply chain in fields like the semiconductor industry, reports NHK World.

Kishida added that the Cabinet also prioritises promoting science and technology, focusing on skills in digital and clean energy.  He also suggested setting up a new social security panel to benefit all age groups and consider alternatives to improve the wages of nurses and caregivers.

READ: Japanese workers see wage increase in August

The prime minister added that he would create a taskforce to formulate a plan for a digital city.  Discussions among panel members are expected to conclude by June 2022, in time to be reflected in Japan’s annual economic policy guideline for the next fiscal year, a government official told reports, according to Kyodo News. 

Kishida had vowed earlier to draw up an economic package worth “tens of trillions of yen” to support the pandemic-hit economy.