April 2, 2010

Premiums in the health insurance program for the elderly aged 75 and older increased on April 1, the first day of the new fiscal year, arousing people’s anger at the government for breaking its election promise and leaving the automatic increase in the premiums in place.

The government headed by Prime Minister Hatotama Yukio came to power after winning in the general election last summer with a clear promise to voters that his government would abolish the discriminatory healthcare insurance program for the elderly. The government, however, decided to postpone abolishing this program.

The premiums increased in 31 prefectures and the national average of premiums is 63,300 yen per capita per year, up 2.1 percent from the last year. The highest increase rate is 7.7 percent in Tokushima Prefecture, followed by 5.8 percent in Hiroshima Prefecture and 5.1 percent in Osaka Prefecture.

The Democratic Party-led government first promised to provide government subsidies to local governments in order to offset the automatic increase in premiums but did not keep this promise. It instead left everything up to each municipality to work out measures to hold down premiums. As a result, the premiums have increased in many prefectures.

The Japanese Communist Party has been consistently calling for the immediate abolition of the program.
- Akahata, April 2, 2010