The Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) hopes to restore its political influence by encouraging member firms to pay donations to parties and by evaluating how the parties measure up.
Top figures in the nation's key business lobby -- including Chairman Hiroshi Okuda, Nobuyuki Idei, chairman of Sony Corp., and Fujio Mitarai, president of Canon Inc. -- will hold intensive discussions on the plan at the group's annual summer forum, which will be held Thursday and Friday in Shizuoka Prefecture.
The group will invite Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to a reception on the second day, to reflect its hope of bridging the divide between the business community and the political arena, particularly over economic policy.