The pension reform bill that the Abe administration is trying to get enacted during the current Diet session is aimed at holding down the growth of pension benefit payments. The administration says the bill's grand purpose is to ensure the long-term financial health of the nation's pension system. But today's pensioners will likely suffer a decline in benefits. The government has a duty to explain in detail and in an easy-to-understand manner how the bill would contribute to rebuilding the pension system's finances, which are certain to face difficulties due to the fall in the working-age population — which pays the pension premiums — and an increase in the number of pensioners in this rapidly aging society.
The government's accountability is all the more important since the public seems largely opposed to the bill. A recent Kyodo News poll found that 58 percent of the respondents opposed the bill against 34 percent in support, although the response varied sharply between generations: Support for the bill was highest — 41 percent — among people up to their 30s and opposition was the strongest — 62.8 percent — among those aged 60 or older.
The opposition parties denounce it as a ploy to cut pension payouts while the government defends it as a measure to secure the pension system's future. From a near-term viewpoint, the opposition forces are right, but from a longer-term perspective, the government is correct. The problem is that the way both sides are presenting their arguments has tended to fuel the divide between younger and older generations. The bottom line should be for the government and lawmakers to make serious efforts to build a sustainable pension system in which the burden of premiums and benefits are reasonable and acceptable to all generations.