The House of Councilors Budget Committee is holding a public hearing to hear opinions from experts regarding the new fiscal year's budget proposal. Experts recommended by each party are giving their opinions on issues such as wage increases and inequality.
Wakana Shuto, a professor at Rikkyo University's Faculty of Economics, said of the wage increase, wage increases have not kept pace with increases in labor productivity over the past 20 years. Mari Osawa, aProfessor emeritus at the University of Tokyo, said it is important to eliminate the disparity between regular and non-regular workers.