By HIDEKI AOTA/ Staff Writer
April 27, 2023 at 15:50 JST
Takeshi Niinami, the newly appointed chairman of Keizai Doyukai (the Japan Association of Corporate Executives) (Hideki Aota)
A newly appointed business lobby leader called for social reforms that include the country’s legal system, where marriage is a social norm.
“Is it really OK for us to have a societal structure that states we must get married?" said Takeshi Niinami, who became the chairman of Keizai Doyukai (the Japan Association of Corporate Executives), on April 27.
“We need to decide how to adjust decades-old policies to meet today’s increasingly diverse society,” said Niinami, highlighting the gaps in Japan’s legal system and family policies that are designed to best serve those who are married.
Niinami, 64, president of Suntory Holdings Ltd., spoke to journalists before he officially took up the position to lead one of the three major business lobbies in Japan.
Niinami called for a “diverse, fair and inclusive society,” which he said would help address the nation’s chronically low birthrate and improve people’s work-life balance.
He stressed the importance of increased support for workers and a more flexible and thriving labor market.
The new chairman also called on the government to boost the healthcare and entertainment industries.
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