TOKYO

A panel chaired by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Thursday that the government will discuss ways of promoting freelance work to offer more options for people to work without being tied down by an organization.

Specifically, the government will work on creating an environment in which freelancers will be able to work at ease, officials said.

The government aims to include detailed measures in an update to its growth strategies due out in summer next year, they said.

A report drawn up by the panel said that a type of employment in which people take on short-term work via the internet has been on the rise over the past few years.

The job satisfaction level is higher among self-employed people and freelancers than corporate employees, the report said, seeking to free people who are trapped within an organization.

At a press conference, Yasutoshi Nishimura, economic and fiscal policy minister, stressed the importance of providing sufficient protection to freelancers under labor policy. The government will shortly conduct a survey to look into the current situation, he said.

The panel also confirmed the government's plan to reach a conclusion by the end of March 2020 on whether to create a driver's license only for vehicles with driving assistance systems.

Discussions on such a license are underway in response to a series of serious traffic accidents caused by elderly drivers.

In a related move, the panel said the government will shortly announce technical guidelines on equipment that automatically limits the speed of a vehicle depending on the speed limit of each road.

On an initiative to promote corporate investments in startup firms, the panel said that the government will draw up guidelines to protect startups from disadvantageous contracts with large companies.

Jiji Press