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Executives' Comments  Press Conferences Chairman Nakanishi's Statements and Comments
at His Press Conference

October 9, 2018


Policy on Recruitment and Employment of New College Graduates

At my meeting with Keidanren vice presidents today, we decided not to set a policy on recruitment and employment of new college graduates commencing work in fiscal 2021 and beyond. Considering the current situation in Japan, although some kinds of rules are required, most vice presidents recognized that there is resistance to Keidanren having made such rules.

Relevant government forums, particularly the Council on Investments for the Future, will discuss what kinds of rules should be put in place for fiscal 2021 and beyond. Since there is no room for procrastination, I believe discussion will proceed swiftly. Keidanren will take an active part in the deliberations.

The most important topic for discussion will be raising the quality of university education. I am aware that in global terms students at Japanese universities do not spend enough time on their studies, and I would like the Council on Investments for the Future to discuss such essential aspects of university education.

At the same time, enterprises also need to review their practices. Many companies already hire mid-career recruits as well as conducting mass recruitment of new graduates, but have not clearly communicated to the public specific matters such as the kind of study they want students to do and the post-hire career paths they offer. I would like to discuss future recruitment practices.

Building a Stronger Relationship with Politics and Evaluating Policy

As in previous years, we will evaluate policies and urge Keidanren member companies to donate to political parties. These decisions will be up to individual companies, but since re-starting political donations Keidanren has consistently believed that they should support political activity as part of enterprises' contribution to society. In deciding upon political donations, it is only natural to evaluate each party's policies, especially policy implementation by ruling parties. Keidanren's evaluation of the ruling LDP/Komeito coalition's policy performance remains unaltered this year.

Employment of Older Persons

From a macro perspective, a growing number of older people are eager to work, have a variety of capabilities, and are actually tackling new challenges. It is important to do all we can to create an environment that provides opportunities for such people to work. However, I have reservations about rushing into discussion of a uniform system guaranteeing employment to a certain age.

Energy Mix

I doubt that anyone opposes the idea of making renewables a core energy source. However, investment is required to ensure stable supplies of renewable energy. We need to create an environment that facilitates capital expenditure. Since the cost of renewable energy is relatively high in Japan compared to the rest of the world, we need a sweeping review of energy policy, including feed-in tariffs.

Many issues must be addressed, including systems, charges, technologies, and decentralization of power sources, and although resolving these issues will take time, Japanese society must rise to the challenges. Now is not the stage at which to discuss a specific percentage for renewables in the energy mix. Keidanren will discuss the issues thoroughly and propose solutions.

Executives' Comments