NIIGATA — The Group of Eight industrialized nations must place more emphasis on a better work-life balance when drafting employment policies, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Yoichi Masuzoe said Monday at a G8 conference on labor.
Government labor representatives from Japan, the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Russia attending the three-day conference in Niigata began discussing global labor issues, including ways to rectify regional inequalities.
"I have always believed it is important to focus on individual workers and not place too much attention on external frameworks, such as markets and systems," Masuzoe said in an opening speech.