Elderly people angry at DPJ’s violation of election promise

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Elderly people angry at DPJ’s violation of election promise

Elderly people are burning with anger at the Hatoyama administration’s decision to postpone abolishing the discriminatory health insurance system for the elderly aged 75 and over, breaking the Democratic Party of Japan’s election promise.

About 100 elderly people on February 1 at the House of Representatives Members’ Office Building held a rally demanding that the Hatoyama administration revoke its decision and repeal the discriminatory health insurance system immediately.

Japanese Communist Party Policy Commission Chair Koike Akira (House of Councilors) attended the rally. In addition to the government decision to put off doing away with the discriminatory health insurance system for four years, Koike criticized the DPJ for failing to keep its election promise to take measures to restrain increases in insurance premiums and imposing heavier financial burdens on the elderly.

Koike said that what the DPJ-led government should do is not to betray people’s trust and establish a system to provide free medical service for the elderly aged 75 and over.

- Akahata, February 2, 2010