Japan Press Weekly

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2016 December 7 - 13 [SOCIAL ISSUES]

JCP Tokyo submits ordinance bill to subsidize children’s medical costs

The Japanese Communist Party Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly members’ group on December 9 submitted an ordinance bill to the assembly to unconditionally subsidize part of municipalities’ medical costs for children up to 15 years old.

If enacted, the bill will cover an additional 70,000 children, totaling 550, 000 Tokyo children to be covered by the subsidy program.

The existing program for children in Tokyo sets an income limit and requires each family to pay a small amount of any medical bills for their children at medical institutions. In Tokyo’s 23 wards, all wards governments provide free healthcare for children thanks to their own subsidy measures. As for outside the 23 wards, medical measures vary depending on the city, bringing about regional gaps in terms of children’s medical care.

JCP Tokyo metropolitan assemblyperson Azegami Miwako in explaining the purpose of the bill’s submission said that it is necessary to ease the medical burden of each municipality in Tokyo by increasing the proportion of the metropolitan government’s subsidy from the present one-half to two-thirds. Furthermore, she pointed to the necessity of removing the income limit and the out-of-pocket medical cost individual parents have to pay for their children.

However, a Liberal Democratic Party assemblyman said that to bind Tokyo’s wards and cities with an ordinance is “a top-down coercion which goes against the principle of decentralization of power”. Saying this, the LDP assembly member pressed the JCP for a retraction of the ordinance bill. The LDP has exposed its complete lack of interest in subsidizing children’s medical expenses.

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The ordinance bill was, however, rejected with a majority vote of the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic parties of the metropolitan assembly.

Prior to the vote, JCP assemlyperson Izumi Naomi in support of the bill pointed out, “All the wards, cities, towns, and villages in Tokyo have been calling for the income limit to be eliminated.” Regarding financial resources, she said, “Review and examination in nonessential large development and road projects will secure the funds needed for the expansion of the subsidy.”

Only an LDP assemblyman took the floor in opposition to the bill. All the other opponents did not say anything but just voted against the bill.

Past related articles:
> Parents-doctors network calls for free medical service for children [February 25 & 26, 2016]
> Stop penalizing municipalities for providing children’s free medical care: JCP Koike [April 15, 2015]
> Government bullies municipalities for not charging for children’s medical costs [September 3, 2007]