Japanese Communist Party leader Kazuo Shii urged senior officials of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren) on Thursday to get its member companies to stop dismissing nonregular workers.

It was the first meeting between the JCP and the powerful business lobby.

Shii told Keidanren leaders it is unnecessary for major companies to dismiss nonregular workers because they still have huge internal reserves.

He also demanded that big firms secure accommodations for workers whose contracts have been terminated.