I couldn't believe my ears when I heard about the government's recent proposal to set up a Special Dismissal Zone on Japanese territory. "A what?" I hear you cry.

The Shinzo Abe government wants to make Japan "the most business-friendly climate in the world." In May, he set up a National Strategy Special Zone Working Group, made proposals to local governments and corporations, and announced that special zones, or tokku, for health care, agriculture, education and other areas will be established.

The plan is to be submitted to an extraordinary session of the Diet in autumn as the Industrial Competitiveness Strengthening Bill. Most controversially, a so-called Special Employment Zone is among the options being considered, an idea that has already been dubbed the Special Dismissal Zone, or kaiko tokku, by the media.