Karla Villalon has three elementary-age children and an 81-year-old grandmother. Her kids have been uprooted twice in two years when first one school, then another, was closed by budget cuts under Gov. Ricardo Rossello. Her grandmother, a retired teacher, is anguished over the possibility of ...
31% to vote for LDP-Komeito coalition, 20% for opposition but 39% undecided, Japan poll shows
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Liberal Democratic Party has the highest support rate ahead of the Upper House election in July, far eclipsing that of the nearest opposition party, a Kyodo News survey showed Thursday. In a two-day telephone poll conducted from Wednesday, 28.8 percent said ...
Report on Japan pension shortfall spurs anxiety — and a closer look at the system
The Financial Services Agency earlier this month released a report on the future financial security of senior citizens that suggested people would have to save more to make up for expected shortfalls in the public pension system, sparking public anxiety and major controversy over ...
Japan's print media ponder wealth, poverty and pensions
One of my recollections from the bubble economy of the 1980s was a passage in a 1987 book titled "Hokokuron" ("The Theory of National Wealth"). Its author, the late economist Taiichi Sakaiya, stood out as one of the bubble era's most fervent cheerleaders. An American ...
Finance Minister Taro Aso survives no-confidence motions over rejection of Japan pension report
Opposition party-submitted resolutions rebuking Finance Minister Taro Aso for his refusal to receive a report questioning the ability of the country's pension system to meet retirees' needs were voted down in the Diet on Friday. The House of Representatives rejected a no-confidence motion against Aso, ...
Abe says snap election 'nowhere on my mind,' but few likely to take his words at face value
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is seeking to quell speculation he may dissolve the Lower House to coincide with July’s pre-scheduled Upper House poll in a so-called “double election.”
Contrasting visions of Denmark's welfare state turn issue into hot election topic
The Nordic welfare model, long the envy of many across the world seeking an egalitarian utopia, is creaking. Aging populations have led to politicians across the region chipping away at the generous cradle-to-grave welfare state for years. In Denmark, next week's election could prove a ...
Japan's Diet passes record ¥101 trillion budget with spending hikes for defense and social security
Key to the budget is a ¥2.03 trillion stimulus package that the government hopes will underpin domestic demand after the consumption tax is increased.
Tokyo pension office head replaced over hate speech tweets, some targeting South Koreans
The head of a Tokyo pension office who repeatedly tweeted discriminatory remarks against individuals including South Koreans was replaced Monday. The governmental Japan Pension Service and sources said that in the now deleted tweets Yukihisa Kasai called South Koreans "cowardly people with vassal-like spirits" and ...
Record $135 billion loss by Japan's pension fund shows shifting from bonds to stocks has a cost
A record quarterly loss at the world's largest pension fund is prompting a debate on whether its shift to stocks from bonds was excessive. Domestic debt held by Japan's Government Pension Investment Fund returned 1 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31, while the ...
Bolsonaro says Brazil must reform or it will become the next Venezuela
Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro pledged swift and sweeping measures to fix the economy and ward off what he said was a risk that Latin America's largest nation turns into a Venezuela-style regime. Plans to sell a large number of state-owned companies are nearly ready, and ...
Government panel paves way for Japan's working age limit to be raised to 70
In the course of preparing to bills on the age limit, the government will also consider promoting different working styles such as working shorter hours.
