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Policy Proposals  Industrial Policy Request for Establishment of a New Industrial Policy System -- The Road to the World's Best Business Environment --

March 19, 2013
Keidanren

Summary

In order to enhance international competitiveness of Japanese companies, both making their own efforts and the industrial policies that the government should implement in support of such efforts are considered to be important.

Companies are working on the followings :

  1. (1) Quick management decisions (improvement in methods for business development and internal decision-making process, etc.)
  2. (2) Diversity in management (integration of global and local strategies through placing local leaders in the corporate management)
  3. (3) Fostering Global human resources (talented people with open-mind, bilingual or multilingual, etc)
  4. (4) Strengthening its Crisis-Response Capability against natural disasters and other eventualities

In support of their efforts, the government needs to provide an early resolution of the so-called "sextuple whammy" and secure a pro-business environment where Japanese companies can compete with foreign ones on an equal footing. Also the government should implement policies based on the following five viewpoints to keep them consistent with the competitive strategies of companies.

  1. (1) Establishing a competitiveness enhancement law (provisional name) to secure sustainability in industrial policies, and reorganization and reinforcement of the Industrial Competitiveness Council
  2. (2) Sufficient policy support for Japanese companies on occasions of global business expansion that are compatible with diverse economic and social environments in emerging and developed markets
  3. (3) Implementation of relevant policies across different ministries and agencies covering all business activities, such as global supply-chains
  4. (4) Improvement of industrial regeneration by expanding of the R&D tax credit system and promoting entrepreneurship through collaboration between existing companies and entrepreneurs
  5. (5) Enforcement of Regulatory and Institutional reform in fields that are expected to grow -- pharmaceuticals, nursing care, childcare, agriculture, big data business, etc. -- and employment policies to promote the utilization of a diverse labor force including young people, women and elderly people

Based on the concepts described above, we propose 123 policy items in accordance with the seven themes currently under discussion in the Industrial Competitiveness Council -- promotion of industrial regeneration, enhancement of human resource and employment system reforms, improvement of Japan's business environment, realization of energy demand and supply, both of which are environmentally suitable and economically efficient, realization of health and longevity society, expansion of agricultural exports and enhancement of agricultural competitiveness, and strengthening technological innovation and information technology.

Industrial Policy