Japan Press Weekly

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2013 September 4 - 10 [WELFARE]

Recipients jointly act against cuts in welfare benefits

In protest against the national government’s cut in welfare benefits, 75 welfare recipients in Kanagawa Prefecture on September 6 jointly submitted to the prefectural government building their request for an administrative review of the unilateral budget cutback.

This action was organized by the Kanagawa Federation of Organizations for the Protection of Life and Health.

Similar actions have been conducted throughout the nation, calling for a halt to a series of cuts in livelihood protection benefits which the national government started in August.

At a rally prior to the filing, Iwasaki Yukio, who chairs the prefectural federation stated that the action represents citizens’ rights and their disagreement with the further lowering of the welfare standards.

A father of two children who participated in this action said that he turns off the air conditioner when their children are not home even on extremely hot days. “It is already hard enough to pay the utility bills. How can we survive if our monthly benefit is cut by 20,000 yen?” said the 52-year-old man.

Another participant, a 72-year-old woman, receives welfare benefits since she had to quit her job due to health problems. She said, “After paying the increased utility charges, I can spend no more than 1,000 yen a day to cover daily living expenses.”