年金ねんきん改革かいかく関連かんれん法案ほうあん 衆院しゅういん本ほん会議かいぎで可決かけつ 参院さんいんへ

The related bills for pension system reform were passed by a majority vote in the plenary session of the House of Representatives and sent to the House of Councillors, after amendments were made to include measures to raise the basic pension in the supplementary provisions of the bill.

It is expected to be passed in the current session of the Diet.

The related bills for pension system reform, along with the amendment jointly submitted by the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, and the Constitutional Democratic Party, were put to a vote in the House of Representatives Committee on Health, Labour and Welfare on the 30th and were passed by a majority vote.

In response to this, the related bills for pension system reform were urgently submitted to the afternoon plenary session of the House of Representatives after being amended to include measures to raise the basic pension in the supplementary provisions of the bill.

In the discussion, Mr. Keishi Abe of the Japan Innovation Party, speaking from an opposing standpoint, said, The phrase raising the basic pension is far too prettily decorated.

The source of funding has not been disclosed, which is nothing but irresponsible and inappropriate.

We must immediately start discussions on what to do with the entire pension system, even if it means starting now, he insisted.

After this, a vote was held, and with a majority in favor from the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, the Constitutional Democratic Party, and others, the bill was passed and sent to the House of Councillors.

The Japan Innovation Party, the Democratic Party for the People, the Communist Party, and Reiwa Shinsengumi, among others, opposed it.

The related bill is expected to pass in the current Diet session.

The bill clearly states measures such as abolishing the wage requirement known as the 1.06 million yen wall and the company size requirement of having 51 or more employees, making it easier for part-time and other workers to join the Employees Pension Insurance system.

In addition, the supplementary provisions of the bill include measures to use Employees’ Pension reserves to bolster the Basic Pension in cases where, for example, the fiscal review of public pensions in four years predicts a decline in future Basic Pension benefit levels. At that time, measures will also be taken to mitigate the impact of any temporary decrease in Employees’ Pension benefit levels.

At the House of Representatives Committee on Health, Labour and Welfare on the morning of the 30th, Prime Minister Ishiba stated regarding measures to raise the basic pension, This will make it possible to ensure the benefit level of the basic pension for a wide range of generations, and ultimately 99

He emphasized that the benefit levels for almost all pensioners receiving employees pension are expected to increase by more than 9%.

LDP’s Representative Noda: “What’s most important is raising the basic pension.” At a press conference, Constitutional Democratic Party Representative Noda said, “The most important thing is raising the basic pension, so we agreed to the minimum necessary revisions.”

There is no doubt that there are other issues, but in this Diet session, we need to find a way to resolve what must be addressed first, he said.

Ishin Party Co-Representative Maehara: We will call for fundamental reforms. At the partys parliamentary meeting, Nippon Ishin no Kais co-representative Maehara said, Despite being an important bill, the deliberation time was extremely short, and moreover, the ruling party and the largest opposition party reached a behind-closed-doors agreement on revisions.

The fiscal review is extremely optimistic, and using Employees Pension funds to raise the Basic Pension is a misappropriation.

We will boldly advocate for fundamental reforms, he said.

National Democratic Party leader Tamaki: Forcing a vote is a betrayal. At the partys representatives meeting, Democratic Party leader Tamaki said, There are still many points that need to be discussed, and forcing a vote without sufficient deliberation time is a betrayal of the people.

We are different from the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito, and the Constitutional Democratic Party. We want to propose a pension system that truly ensures a sufficient and reliable pension amount, and also addresses issues faced by the so-called employment ice age generation, he said.

Communist Party Policy Chief Yamazoe: There should have been more discussion At a press conference, Communist Party Policy Chief Yamazoe said, Our partys amendment, which included the prompt abolition of the macroeconomic slide, was rejected, but this is the direction things should have taken.

In terms of a deliberative Diet, shouldnt there have been more discussion about what pension reform should ideally look like, rather than proceeding based only on the agreement of the three parties?

I would like to continue to request thorough deliberation in the House of Councillors, he said.

[Expert Q&A] The measures are commendable, but their effectiveness will be verified in the future. The related bill for pension system reform has been amended to include measures to raise the basic pension in the supplementary provisions of the bill.

We asked Professor Kohei Komamura of Keio University, an expert on the pension system, about this revision.

Q: An amendment was made to include measures to raise the basic pension in the supplementary provisions of the bill. What does this mean? The basic pension is a key element of income security, and there were concerns that poverty would become a bigger issue in the future.

Especially for the employment ice age generation, their economic situation has been very poor from the time they started working until recently, and there was a possibility that their pension amounts would also be low, so measures were taken, which can be seen as a positive step.

Since there are a lot of people in the ice age generation, there was a possibility that the number of people with low pensions would increase, which could become a source of social anxiety, so it is also expected to help prevent that.

I think one of the roles of the pension system is for generations or income groups who are a bit better off to support the so-called lost generation, who suffered from prolonged unfavorable economic conditions like a generation lottery, and also to protect the retirement of generations younger than the lost generation.

Q What are the key points going forward? I think its more accurate to say that this revision is aimed at preventing the basic pension from getting worse, rather than significantly improving it compared to what we have now. So, I wouldnt go so far as to call it a comfortable pension.

We need to see future evaluations to determine how effective the policy of raising the baseline will be when combined with other policy measures.

Q What kind of response is required from the government? The ice age generation still has a chance to keep working and accumulate pension benefits.

Pensions will be central, but I also want the government to implement as many policies as possible to improve the working conditions for the so-called ice age generation, such as raising wages and ensuring good working environments.

Support such as opportunities to work after the age of 60 and reskilling to improve one’s abilities will also become necessary.

Q If the benefit level increases, additional government funding will also be required. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, it is estimated that this will amount to about 1 to 2 trillion yen per year in the future.

If we continue to do nothing and leave things as they are, poverty will spread and government spending on things like welfare will increase, so I want you to take that into consideration as well.

How to secure financial resources is something we still have time to consider, so I would like the government to take its time and build a broad national consensus.