A teenager's request for shorter classes was one of many ideas proposed by members of the public in the latest round of suggestions for deregulation, the government said Wednesday.
The teenager, a junior high school student in Sapporo who applied for the government program of setting up special zones eligible for preferential deregulatory treatment, called for adjusting the length of classes so students can go home earlier during winter, officials said.
The government received 286 suggestions from 112 companies and individuals as well as 110 local governments.
A group of taxi drivers in Sendai sought stricter regulations on their business, saying a 2002 legal revision led to a surge in the number of taxi drivers, harming their labor conditions and increasing traffic jams.
Another proposal called for capturing dolphins. This was put forward by the municipal government of Iki, Nagasaki Prefecture, because dolphins in the city's breeding facility are getting old.
The ideas were submitted for the sixth round of special deregulation zones. The government has authorized various decontrols in designated areas around the nation under the "special structural reform zone" program since 2003.