The Abe administration on May 17 submitted a bill to the Diet to revise the Livelihood Protection Law. By imposing strict procedural requirements on applying for assistance, it ostensibly aims at reducing the number of people who unlawfully receive assistance known as seikatsu hogo (livelihood protection). But the revision, which greatly increases the application procedure's red tape, will discourage many people who need assistance from applying for welfare, which is the final layer in the nation's social safety net. Judging by past experience, the revision will lead to more deaths from hunger and suicide.

The Abe administration's revision can be viewed as violating the spirit of Article 25 of the Constitution, which says, "All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living. In all spheres of life, the State shall use its endeavors for the promotion and extension of social welfare and security, and of public health."

After a series of suicides and deaths from hunger in and after 2006 in Kitakyushu and other parts of Japan, involving people whose applications for welfare were rejected, the health and welfare ministry made it clear that local governments must accept applications if they can confirm applicants' desire to receive welfare assistance. The ministry went as far as to state that it is illegal not to accept applications just because the necessary documents have not been submitted and that, under certain circumstances, even oral applications could be acceptable.