Japan Press Weekly

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2022 December 7 - 13 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

Elderly people stage sit in to protest against heavier out-of-pocket hospital fees

Outside the Health and Welfare Ministry office building, elderly people conducted a 3-day sit-in calling for a policy shift to protect the health and human rights of the elderly.

In the sit-in action held on December 6, Japanese Communist Party Secretariate Head Koike Akira, Vice Chair Tamura Tomoko, and Dietmembers Inoue Satoshi, Kira Yoshiko, Yamazoe Taku, and Miyamoto Takeshi participated and gave speeches in solidarity.

Koike criticized the government for generating conflict between senior citizens and the working population. He said, "The Liberal Democratic-Komei parties coalition government on the one hand will double the military budget and on the other always seeks to cut back on the social security budget as if they want to ruin the country."

A participant in the December 6 sit-in said, "It is horrible that the government has been scaling back social welfare services for more than four decades." Another participant complained, "We already have to shoulder a heavier share of the medical costs at hospitals. In addition to this, the government is even planning to increase fees for the use of nursing-care services."

A participant in the December 7 action pointed out, "Many elderly people regularly go to see doctors. Rising prices of food and utilities and the twofold increase in doctor bills will definitely deal a blow to our daily lives."

Past related article:
> Out-of-pocket medical costs at hospitals doubled for elderly [October 1, 2022]