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The
program, still in its early stages, is expected to feature in
the government's economic strategy due sometime around June,
which is part of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic agenda,
commonly called "Abenomics."
The government invited Joseph Stiglitz, an economist and a Nobel
laureate, to speak at its top advisory panel on Tuesday about
investing more in education by introducing universal access to a
college education.
A ruling Liberal Democratic Party panel is also debating the
scope of the plan and how to fund it, with an eye on helping
low-income families.
"Stiglitz has many ideas that agree with some of the things that
we are trying to do in the second stage of 'Abenomics,'" Abe
said after the panel met.
Stiglitz also recommended that Japan raise salaries for workers
in education and healthcare to draw more workers into the
services sector, raise minimum wages, raise public-sector wages
and increase productivity.
These are all policies that Abe has adopted recently, but some
economists say the pace of improvement in wages has been too
slow.
"I talked about some of the underlying reasons for the slowdown
in growth and productivity and the dangers of what happens if
these issues that are dividing societies are not addressed,"
Stiglitz told reporters.
Stiglitz also said that monetary policy in Japan has reached its
limits, so it is better to support growth by narrowing the
wealth divide and increasing productivity.
Abe shifted his economic agenda last year to focus on raising
the minimum wage, curbing long working hours and improving
access to child care.
At the time, Abe framed the shift as a focus on the
redistribution of wealth. Economists have largely welcomed this
shift, but some critics say policies are not bold enough.
Abe is trying to breathe new life into his economic agenda after
the growth spurt caused by his mix of fiscal spending and
monetary easing from the central bank started to fade.
(Reporting by Stanley White; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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