Government must follow public opinion and retract faulty pension bill: JCP

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi on May 17 demanded that the government and the ruling parties retract the pension "reform" bill, pointing out that reasons they have given are found to be groundless and that the great majority of the public is opposed to it being enacted in the current session ending on June 16.

Ichida said that the discussion of the pension cut bill in the House of Councilors plenary session on May 12 revealed that the government lied about the National Pension premium being fixed at 16,900 yen a month after 2017 and about the promise that 50 percent of the current wage will be guaranteed for employees' pension benefit.

Ichida cited opinion surveys in which a majority of respondents are opposed to the pension cut bill being enacted in the current session, 70 percent in the one by the Asahi and 62 percent in the Mainichi. He said, "These figures reflect public opinion. The government must retract the bill." (end)