12.8 Rally "Call for the Early Enactment of the 4 Bills Related to the Emergency Employment Countermeasures"

On the morning of December 18, the DPJ, Social Democratic Party (SDP), People's New Party (PNP) and the Japanese Trade Union Confederation (JTUC- Rengo) held a rally in Tokyo to call for the early enactment of four bills related to emergency employment countermeasures. The above 3 opposition parties and JTUC-Rengo agreed that the four bills related to emergency employment countermeasures submitted by the 3 parties on December 15 should be passed by the House of Councillors Health, Labor and Welfare Committee before the end of the same day (December 18) and passed by the House of Councillors Plenary Session on the following day (December 19), with the aim of passing the bill into law before the end of the current Diet session.

At the beginning of the meeting, DPJ Policy Research Committee Chair Masayuki Naoshima who chaired the assembly explained the reason for the rally and the schedule of the day, saying "deregulation without an accompanying safety net is threatening people's lives. At today's House of Councillors Health, Labor and Welfare Committee meeting we are scheduled to debate bills for protecting employment. We want to send these bills on to the House of Representatives as soon as possible."

DPJ Acting President Naoto Kan (Director of the DPJ Emergency Employment Countermeasures Headquarters), as a representative of the DPJ, told attendees that "this current crisis is extremely serious. We may face such situations only once every hundred years. What is the government doing in response? Absolutely nothing. Prime Minister Taro Aso's Cabinet is hampering employment countermeasures. The bills submitted by the opposition include measures that will start to take effect before the end of the year. Voting the bill through the Health, Labor and Welfare Committee today will not be forced action, it will be rapid action. The ruling coalition should also support this bill so that it can be passed unanimously".

SDP Leader Mizuho Fukushima and PNP Vice Leader Shozaburo Jimi showed their support for the bills. JTUC-Rengo Chair Tsuyoshi Takagi called on politicians to "fight for employment rights", adding that we cannot rely on Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) to protect jobs and people's livelihoods.

House of Councillors Health, Labor and Welfare Committee Principal Director Satoru Ienishi and House of Councillors member Shoichi Kondo, representing the lawmakers who drew up the bill, also expressed their determination to see the bill passed.

Finally, PNP Diet Affairs Committee Chair Masaaki Itokawa led attendees in raising their fists and calling for action. Closing remarks were made by SDP Secretary General Yasumasa Shigeno as attendees pledged to pass the bill and to protect jobs and livelihoods of workers, particularly contract workers.

The rally was attended by 500 people including lawmakers from the various parties.