Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2012 August 1 - 14 [POLITICS]

Hashimoto appointed ward boss: welfare benefit is compensation for labor

A ward chief who was appointed by the Osaka City mayor stated that livelihood protection benefits are paid to recipients in compensation for their labor.

Under Article 25 of the Constitution guaranteeing the right to receive welfare assistance to the people, the welfare assistance program is designed to provide necessary assistance for needy people to maintain a wholesome and cultured standard of living.

The statement appeared in the ward chief’s vision of administration which was posted on the website of Osaka’s Tsurumi Ward. The chief, Tokura Shogo, is a former Kansai Electric Power Company employee who was appointed by City Mayor Hashimoto Toru to the post on August 1.

Showing negative stance toward the Constitution, he argued, “It focuses on declaring people’s guaranteed rights. It lacks a view about how to get funds for securing people’s rights.”

He calls for cuts in the budget for welfare benefit payments and insists that livelihood protection recipients can receive benefits when they participate in public service activities such as nursing-care, cleanup of communities, and night patrol. The ward boss intends to force the recipients to engage in such activities in return for the benefit payments.

The Public Assistant Act prohibits a public assistance administration from pushing the recipients to obey its guidance or instruction.

Osaka City Mayor Hashimoto on August 7 admitted that his appointee’s view of recognizing the welfare assistance benefit as compensation for labor was wrong. He said that as long as the ward chief is a civil servant, he has to express his opinion in light of spirit of the Constitution and the current laws.

Hashimoto should be blamed for choosing as ward leader such a person who lacks the basic understanding that public servants are required to comply with the Constitution.