Upper house passes resolution to tackle deteriorating employment

TOKYO, Jan. 7 Kyodo -
The House of Councillors unanimously passed a resolution on Wednesday calling
on the government to tackle the deteriorating employment situation by
implementing measures to help people without jobs.
The emergency resolution, submitted by opposition parties, cleared the
opposition-controlled upper house in its plenary session after incorporating
opinions from the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and the New
Komeito party.
The LDP had considered submitting a separate resolution to counter the
opposition parties, but eventually agreed to vote in favor of the resolution as
the opposition agreed to revise the document by including the views of the
ruling parties.
The resolution maintained some of its original contents, including asking the
government to take measures such as securing housing and employment for the
jobless as well as taking advantage of the welfare benefit system in helping
people without jobs.
It additionally calls on companies to make efforts to maintain and secure
employment by not dismissing employees easily or canceling job offers to new
graduates.
Meanwhile, at a parliamentary debate held in the upper house, Prime Minister
Taro Aso reiterated his intention not to remove the 2.04 trillion yen allotted
for a cash benefit program from the government-proposed second extra budget for
the current fiscal year, in the face of opposition lawmakers' demands for him
to do so.
Aso said the program will have a positive economic effect by distributing cash
widely to households and called on lawmakers in the upper house to cooperate in
enacting the budget swiftly.
''Although the program will only be implemented in a single fiscal year, it
will have major significance by becoming a catalyst for sustainable growth, as
it will cheer up people who receive benefits while pushing up the real gross
domestic product,'' Aso said.
Deliberations on the second extra budget started Wednesday at the House of
Representatives Budget Committee, where explanations on the budget proposal and
an opposition-proposed bill to amend the budget were offered.
Debates on the extra budget and the amendment bill are scheduled to be held on
Thursday and Friday with Aso and his Cabinet ministers in attendance.
The ruling parties initially sought to hold a vote on the budget on Friday, but
the ruling and opposition parties agreed to hold a vote next Tuesday or later,
lawmakers said.
The Japanese government submitted the 4.79 trillion yen second extra budget at
the outset of the ongoing regular Diet session Monday. It includes support
measures for households, small businesses and regional economies hit hard by
the current economic slowdown.
Countering the government and the ruling parties, the main opposition
Democratic Party of Japan, the Social Democratic Party and the People's New
Party jointly submitted a bill to the Diet on Tuesday to amend the second extra
budget to remove the allotment for the cash benefit program.
Meanwhile, Aso rejected a call from DPJ lawmaker Yasuo Yamashita to dissolve
the lower house for a snap general election, saying people are hoping for the
early enactment of the budget and the implementation of economic pump-priming
measures.
''There are people who say everything will be better if 'change' occurs. But
reform will not proceed without building up specific measures,'' the prime
minister said. ''The ruling parties and I are seeking to meet people's
expectations by implementing responsible measures.''
Aso said international collaboration is essential to overcome the slowdown in
the global economy and it would be natural for Japan to exercise leadership in
the world by cooperating with U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's
administration to be launched Jan. 20.
==Kyodo