The House of Councilors on Friday approved a pension reform bill designed to revamp the corporate pension system, paving the way for its enforcement next April 1.
Separately, the House of Representatives Committee on Health, Labor and Welfare was set to approve another pension reform bill Friday afternoon that would allow a defined-contribution plan modeled after the popular U.S. 401(k) plan.
The enacted law on defined-benefit corporate pensions will give rise to two new corporate pension programs -- a "contract type" that outside managers will manage based on agreements between workers and employers, and a "fund type" under which companies will jointly manage funds.