February 25, 2025
Akahata editorial (excerpts)
Democratic Party for the People head Tamaki Yuichiro on his X account recently wrote foreigners use the high-cost medical expense benefit system, one of the major elements in Japan’s public health insurance structure, with a lower insurance premium burden than Japanese.
Tamaki’s remark appeared to be xenophobic and include an idea that people whose premium paying period is short should not benefit from the system.
Such an idea implies that those who pay for a short period of time should receive less. The idea will bring about endless division and deny the social welfare system designed to publicly support all people’s livelihoods based on the right to live guaranteed under the Constitution.
The DPP calls for cutting public spending on medical care services under the pretext of “lowering the insurance premium burden on the working-age population”.
The party appealed for the need to raise the monthly upper limit on patients’ share in high-cost medical expenses as one of its key policies in its manifesto for the October 2024 general election. In addition, the party proposed to legalize death with dignity as a measure to reduce medical spending. This revealed the party’s stance of treating human life lightly.
Tamaki on an TV program aired on February 15 said that the elderly receive preferential treatment in social welfare services without reasonable grounds to do so. This type remark only divides people and contributes to slashing government spending in the field of social welfare.
In order to lower the excessively heavy premium burden, it is vital to stop preferential tax breaks for large corporations and the rich. It is also essential to cancel the military buildup and instead increase the state’s share of the burden for the insurance program. The DPP attacks the elderly and foreigners maybe because it wants to distract public attention from this pressing issue.
Democratic Party for the People head Tamaki Yuichiro on his X account recently wrote foreigners use the high-cost medical expense benefit system, one of the major elements in Japan’s public health insurance structure, with a lower insurance premium burden than Japanese.
Tamaki’s remark appeared to be xenophobic and include an idea that people whose premium paying period is short should not benefit from the system.
Such an idea implies that those who pay for a short period of time should receive less. The idea will bring about endless division and deny the social welfare system designed to publicly support all people’s livelihoods based on the right to live guaranteed under the Constitution.
The DPP calls for cutting public spending on medical care services under the pretext of “lowering the insurance premium burden on the working-age population”.
The party appealed for the need to raise the monthly upper limit on patients’ share in high-cost medical expenses as one of its key policies in its manifesto for the October 2024 general election. In addition, the party proposed to legalize death with dignity as a measure to reduce medical spending. This revealed the party’s stance of treating human life lightly.
Tamaki on an TV program aired on February 15 said that the elderly receive preferential treatment in social welfare services without reasonable grounds to do so. This type remark only divides people and contributes to slashing government spending in the field of social welfare.
In order to lower the excessively heavy premium burden, it is vital to stop preferential tax breaks for large corporations and the rich. It is also essential to cancel the military buildup and instead increase the state’s share of the burden for the insurance program. The DPP attacks the elderly and foreigners maybe because it wants to distract public attention from this pressing issue.
