May 18, 1985

The Reagan Administration said today that it was ''prepared to facilitate'' efforts by the Rev. Jesse Jackson to win the release of five Americans who have been abducted in Lebanon. But it also repeated its firm opposition to meeting the demands of the terrorists holding the captives. ''If Jesse Jackson can do anything, that would be just fine,'' President Reagan said as he boarded his helicopter this afternoon for a weekend at Camp David. Although saying that it would put no obstacles in the way of a possible mission by Mr. Jackson and the families of some captives, the State Department made clear that the Administration was strongly opposed to meeting the conditions for their release set by the group called Islamic Holy War. The group says it is holding five Americans and two French diplomats at an undisclosed location or locations.

Equal employment rights for women, at least in theory, came to Japan today, but some people wondered whether this resolutely male-oriented society would even notice. Of the major industrial countries, Japan has been among the more resolute in keeping its men on the job and its women within reasonable proximity of the kitchen. After seven years of public debate and behind-the-scenes compromise, the Parliament gave final approval this afternoon to a bill encouraging employers, beginning next April, to end discrimination on the basis of sex in their hiring, assignment and promotion policies. Severe restrictions now placed on overtime and late-night work by women would be ended in many jobs. These limitations were sometimes characterized as privileges by people who wanted to retain them. But they have had the effect of keeping women out of many jobs.

President Reagan has decided that, under his tax revision proposal, only families with more than $70,000 of taxable income would be subject to the highest tax rate of 35 percent, a senior Administration official said today. The official added that the plan's lowest rate of 15 percent would apply up to about $30,000 of taxable income. The middle rate, 25 percent, would apply between $30,000 and $70,000, according to the Reagan adviser, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified. There are now more than a dozen tax rates, ranging from 11 percent to 50 percent. The official added that Mr. Reagan had ruled out an even lower maximum rate, despite continuing appeals from some members of Congress. The chief advocate of a lower top rate has been Representative Jack F. Kemp, Republican of upstate New York.

Health insurers will pay $450 million, far more than expected, to private and public hospitals in New York State over the next two years as part of a state-run program meant to contain hospital costs, according to state officials. The payments are subsidies established by the State Department of Health five years ago as an incentive for hospitals to curtail what the state said were unnecessary hospital stays. Drop in Hospitalization At the time, hospital costs were soaring, largely because of a steady increase in hospitalization. But for reasons unrelated to the state's subsidy program, hospitalization has been falling more sharply than expected.

Large increases in military spending have for many years failed to yield comparable increases in weapons delivered to the armed services, and some critics of Pentagon practices believe that basic changes are needed in the incentives that influence those who buy and make weapons. There seems to be a growing consensus among such critics that the way the Defense Department customarily does business is based on an inverted system of rewards and punishment. These incentives tend to reward, rather than penalize, cost increases in a tank or airplane. They also encourage uniformed procurement officers to place a far higher priority on gaining Congressional approval to begin a new weapon program, rather than on controlling prices. Values Are Entrenched The most often discussed remedies for the troubled system of acquiring weapons and equipment for the armed services are greater competition in the military industry, better preparation and supervision of contracts by officials and more realistic planning by the Pentagon.