Japan Press Weekly

Tweet

2014 January 29 - February 4 [WELFARE]

Over 110,000 elderly protest against cuts in pension benefits

Protesting against cuts in national pension benefits, 116,795 pension recipients on January 30 and 31 filed complaints at local government offices throughout the country.

The Welfare Ministry plans to reduce pension payments by 0.7% in April, following the 1% reduction in October last year.

In Tokyo, around 600 pensioners submitted administrative protest forms signed by 10,000 aged people to the Welfare Ministry. After that, they held a rally near the ministry building and marched in demonstration through the government office district of Kasumigaseki.

Japan Pensioners’ Union Chair Tomita Hiroyasu on behalf of the rally organizer said, “Behind the petitions signed by more than 110,000 people, there exists 30 million angry elderly.”

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Councilors Tamura Tomoko delivered a speech as a guest speaker.

A 74-year-old woman living in Tokyo’s Nakano Ward said, “Some people have to work even after they turn 70 because their pension benefits are insufficient. I want the government to increase the minimum amount of pension payments.”