pension2

People will sit in until bad bill on pension is withdrawn

As the ruling parties were trying to rush through a Lower House vote on the bill to adversely revise the pension system, more than 300 people carried out sit-ins outside the diet on April 22 to block the enactment of the bill.

The bill's passage through the House of Representatives committee was thwarted on the same day by opposition parties demanding a thorough discussion of the bill with public hearings.

The ruling Liberal Democratic and Komei parties, however, are bent on getting the bill passed through the Lower House by the end of April.

In an opinion survey, 67 percent of the respondents expressed opposition to the government bill that calls for cuts in benefits and an increase in premiums. Only 22 percent expressed support for it.

In the House of Representatives Health, Labor, and Welfare Committee meeting on April 22, Kumon Akio, an expert in the pension system, testified as a witness and said, "The government bill is the worst ever bill in that it increases premiums, reduces benefits, and undermines the public pension system." (end)