Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has highlighted social security as the domestic system that currently needs reform the most. He appears to feel strongly about accomplishing social security reform as the political legacy of his administration, now the longest in Japanese history. He emphasizes the need for reforming the system for the younger generation in particular, advocating "social security reform for all generations."

A final report on the planned reform is due this summer, following the interim report released at the end of last year. Expectations are high for social security reform because rebuilding the nation's fiscal health is impossible without rebuilding the social security system. At the same time, various problems have been pointed out over the planned reform. The interim report discusses the matter in terms of pension, medical and nursing care services, but this article will focus on the pension system to weigh the benefits and problems of the planned reform.

There are two positive aspects of the reform. First, the administration has put the whole Cabinet in charge of the reform, instead of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry, to whose jurisdiction the social security reform belongs. Yasutoshi Nishimura, minister in charge of economic revitalization, is tasked to put together draft reform, instead of the health and welfare minister. Unlike the previous National Commission on Social Security, the panel to discuss the reform does not include representatives from industry associations and limits participation by members of the welfare ministry's Social Security Council to a minimum. Such setup of the panel suggests that the prime minister himself will lead the reform by excluding the influence of interested parties as much as possible.