Following is the gist of remarks made by Hiroshi Okuda, Chairman, Keidanren at a scheduled press conference following monthly Chairman and Vice Chairmen's meeting on 12 April 2004. Translation is rush and tentative, and sequence of the gist does not necessarily coincide with words delivered.
(On shuffle in - Keidanren top executives - announcement basis)
Keidanren executive nominees to be approved on May 27, 2004, are as follows:
(On Japanese hostages in Iraq)
Effects on Japanese economy are limited. Japanese companies should have already established crisis management center, learning from hostage cases of the past.
(On pension reform)
Keidanren has always claimed that reforms on pension, long-term care, and medical must be simultaneously considered, and pension reform alone is not enough. The ruling coalition decided that a thorough overhaul in taxation should be implemented in 2007, including consumption tax, so that thorough discussion is necessary.
(On Anti-Monopoly Act reform)
Current review of the Act is hasty as very little time was allocated in arriving at conclusions. Keidanren's stance to take necessary time to arrive at consensus remains unchanged.
(On foreign exchange rate)
Current rate of 105 to 106 yen to dollar is approaching the limit for most exporters. Rapid fluctuation is not desirable, and government is expected to continue existing policies on exchange rate.
(On Ministerial Conference on Promoting Economic Partnership Agreements)
Keidanren has been asking for establishment of "Strategic Headquarters for Economic Partnership." It is hoped that the Ministerial Conference would take substantial action to function in the same way as what we have been asking for.
(Evaluating three years of Mr. Koizumi's prime minister-ship)
He took up various untouched areas such as Post Office and Japan Highway Public Corporation where no one has dealt with before, and his attitude on reforms must be highly evaluated. Even though the speed of reforms appears to be slower than the level expected by the private sector, it appears that Mr. Koizumi has been maneuvering among various obstacles to speed up reforms. His reforms including writing off non-performing loans and tax reforms assisted economic recovery led by private sector reforms.