At a press conference, Tomosaburo Motegi, chairman of the Japan Productivity Center, expressed his view that companies should actively invest in the development of new businesses in order to achieve a virtuous cycle of improving productivity and sustaining wage increases.
The Japan Productivity Center, an organization that brings together the business community, the labor community, and academic experts to conduct surveys and make recommendations for improving productivity, held a press conference at the beginning of the year on May 15.
In his speech, Chairman Motegi stated, "We are now at a critical moment to put the Japan economy, which has been stagnant for a long time, back on a growth path, and we must ensure a virtuous cycle of productivity improvement and sustainable wage increases."
In addition, he suggested that corporate executives should not be afraid to take risks and actively invest in new business development, digitalization, R&D, etc., with an eye on future growth.
In addition, Chairman Motegi said, "The role of the government is to promote the metabolism of the economy and create vitality for the economy as a whole by moving capital and labor to highly productive firms," and requested the improvement of the labor market and the strengthening of the safety net.
On the other hand, Mr. Yoshino, the chairman of the Japanese Federation of Federations, who attended the meeting as vice chairman, said that "the key point is how much small and medium-sized enterprises in rural areas can raise wages," and expressed his recognition of the importance of passing on prices, including labor costs.