Japan Press Weekly

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2014 March 12 - 18 [WELFARE]

City asks citizens to spy on welfare benefit recipients

Saitama City in Saitama Prefecture issued leaflets which encourage local residents to keep a watchful eye on welfare payment recipients, which has provoked criticism from the citizens.

The city in February launched a hotline project in order to collect information concerning the livelihood protection program from the general public, and published leaflets to promote citizens’ participation in the project.

The leaflets, however, called on citizens to report to the city authorities if they suspect someone of concealing income or properties owned to unfairly receive welfare payments.

The Japanese Communist Party members of the Saitama City Assembly on March 5 criticized the city government by saying, “If the city encourages citizens to spy on each other, it will arouse negative feelings among citizens and may degenerate into distrust among them.” The JCP assembly representatives argued that the hotline project should focus on support for poor people, and demanded a revision of the leaflet.

A city official in charge of this issue promised to reword the leaflet.

The newly printed leaflets only ask for information regarding needy people who have yet to apply for livelihood protection.