The House of Representatives on Friday approved a revised pension reform bill that calls for a measure to shore up basic pension benefits.
The bill passed the lower chamber during a plenary meeting by a majority vote, with support from the ruling camp and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. The bill is expected to be enacted during the current session of parliament ending in June after being sent to the House of Councilors.
The level of basic pension benefits for all citizens is expected to decrease by about 30% in three decades due to the country's shrinking and aging population.
The revised bill, submitted jointly by the ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, plus the CDP, features a supplementary provision that calls for shoring up basic pension benefits through the use of reserve funds from the kōsei nenkin public pension program for corporate and government workers that pay additional benefits, if the 2029 review of public pension finances predicts a significant decrease in basic pension benefits.
The government initially sought to include a basic pension improvement plan in the pension reform bill but eventually dropped it following criticism among some LDP members that the planned measure would be a misappropriation of kōsei nenkin funds.
The government came under fire for the removal of the improvement plan. This led the LDP and Komeito to accept a CDP proposal to revise the bill to put back the plan.
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