An extraordinary Diet session started Tuesday to discuss important issues such as the leaks of contaminated water from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, the reconstruction of areas devastated by the 3/11 disasters and Japan's strategy for the Trans-Pacific Partnership talks.
The session began 3½ months after the regular Diet session ended. During this period, there has been no substantive discussion on urgent matters. It's time for the government and the Diet to get serious about helping Japan overcome the problems that are having the biggest impact on people's lives.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe devoted about one-third of his policy speech to his economic growth strategy, which he said is aimed at increasing employment and wages for "young people and women." He said the effective ratio of job offers to applicants increased from 0.83 in late 2012 to 0.95 in August. But what he failed to do is mention the quality of employment. Businesses are adding irregular employees, whose wages are lower and who can be fired at any time. According to the internal affairs ministry, the number of irregularly employed workers hit a record 18.81 million in the April-June period, while the number of regular workers declined by 530,000 from the same period of 2012 to 33.17 million.