Japan needs to hold fast in limiting the rise of social welfare spending, said Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Katsunobu Kato in a recent interview.
To meet a spending limit set in fiscal 2015, Kato said he wants to adhere to a ¥500 billion ($4.6 billion) cap on increases in social welfare spending next year, the same as for the past two years, but the ministry estimates that ¥630 billion will be needed to meet the costs of the nation's aging population.
"We have to secure funds to meet people's needs but funding isn't limitless," said Kato, who was appointed during a Cabinet reshuffle in August, on Friday. "It's our job to establish a balance" between meeting people's needs and restraining spending, he added.