Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2011 June 8 - 14 [POLITICS]

Corporate think tank involved in revision of nursing care system

One of Japan’s mega banks will be able to increase profits through a “self-written” revision of the government’s nursing care insurance system, Akahata reported on June 12.

Mitsubishi UFJ Research and Consulting Co., Ltd (MURC), a subsidiary of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd, has been studying ways to cut nursing care services covered by the public insurance with subsidies it received from the Health Ministry. The mega bank’s think tank has been submitting reports to the government for three consecutive years since 2008 based on its study results.

In the report this year, MURC pointed out that the cutbacks in the system will increase the demand for services that are not covered by the insurance and thus it will push the market for such services to achieve the growth.

Referring to the MURC’s report, the Democratic Party of Japan-led government in May 2010 announced a plan to change the nursing care insurance system.

Mitsubishi UFJ is a major stockholder of corporations selling uninsured services.

The government allows the subsidiary of the corporate group, which will gain profits as a result of the expected cuts in the nursing care services, to participate in a process of revision of the government nursing care program and actually drew up a bill based on the report made by the subsidiary.

The state bears a responsibility to ensure the right to live in health. It is inappropriate for the government to insert a corporation that will benefit from a social welfare policy into the process of creating and implementing that policy.