The Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), in its new growth strategy, will propose increasing the percentage of women on corporate boards to 30% or more by 2030 and starting the construction of a new, safer kind of nuclear reactor, according to the final draft obtained by The Yomiuri Shimbun.
Keidanren plans to announce the strategy in early November. It is the first time since 2015 that Keidanren has drawn up a comprehensive growth strategy. It will also be the first such strategy under the leadership of Keidanren Chairman Hiroaki Nakanishi, who is also chairman of Hitachi Ltd.
The final draft consists of five pillars, which include work style reforms, regional revitalization and achieving green growth, according to sources.
Regarding working styles, the strategy calls for the promotion of a combination of working from home and coming to work in person, as needed, rather than making teleworking a temporary option after it became widespread amid the novel coronavirus pandemic. It also encourages the work style of having side jobs, according to the draft.
To promote the active roles of diverse human resources, the strategy proposes increasing the ratio of women, foreign nationals and mid-career workers among others on boards of directors. It also sets a numerical target of increasing the percentage of women in executive positions, including board members, corporate officers and other senior positions, to 30% or more by 2030.
As to the government's target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, for which Keidanren has indicated its support, the draft states that existing efforts are insufficient.
It stresses that the government should make a long-term, large-scale investment with public funding in developing and promoting innovative technologies.
It also highlighted the necessity of utilizing nuclear energy and proposed that the construction of a new type of nuclear reactor should begin by 2030.
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