April 13, 2025

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Koike Akira, in his special lecture given at a conference of the Japan Geriatric Neurosurgery Society in Odawara City (Kanagawa Pref.) on April 12, criticized the government policy of not providing adequate funding for medical care for the elderly.

Koike pointed out that although Japan has one of the world’s most aged populations, its social security spending accounts for only 22.9% of GDP, lower than that of European countries and even lower than the 24.1% of the United States, the country placing importance on self-responsibility.

Koike, who is also a medical doctor, said, “Japan does not spend enough money on medical care for the elderly. Let’s raise our voices together to push the government to spend more taxpayers’ money on medical care. I will do my best in the Diet to achieve this.”

Koike said that the consumption tax is not applied to treatment covered by the public health insurance system but is levied on purchases of pharmaceuticals and other items. “Therefore,” he added, “medical institutions bear a heavy burden of the consumption tax.” He continued to say that 69% of hospitals had a deficit in medical profits in fiscal 2024 due to an increase in all expenses, including the cost of medical supplies, caused by rising prices.

He said that the government is obligated to ensure people’s right to “the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living” as Article 25 of the Constitution guarantees, and suggested that the government review the present tax system and reduce the consumption tax rate.