Commentary / Japan Mar 3, 2020
Reforming Japan's social security system
by Heizo Takenaka
Rebuilding Japan's fiscal health will be impossible without overhauling the social security system.
Business / Economy Dec 18, 2019
Japan to earmark record ¥102 trillion for 2020 budget as social security and defense costs rise
The central government will distribute ¥16.6 trillion to local governments, up ¥400 billion from the previous year.
National Oct 29, 2019
Abe-led government panel suggests reducing hospital beds to cut costs
The number of beds at hospitals nationwide should be reduced by some 130,000 as a measure to cut ballooning social security costs, the panel said.
National / Social Issues Sep 12, 2019
Abe and his new Cabinet face significant obstacles toward reforming nation's social security systems
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who reshuffled his Cabinet on Wednesday, said he will boost efforts to reform the nation's social security systems — a top domestic priority for him as he enters the last two years of his final three-year term as president of ...
Business Aug 22, 2019
Trump says he's not looking at payroll and capital gains tax cuts
U.S. President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he is not looking at cutting payroll taxes or linking capital gains taxes to the inflation rate, which could slash the taxes that investors pay on profits from asset sales. On Tuesday, Trump had said he was seriously ...
Commentary / Japan Aug 2, 2019
Pension reform must accompany consumption tax hike
by Richard Solomon
To end people's fears that the public pension won't support them in retirement, the government must place comprehensive social security reform at the top of the political agenda.
National Apr 21, 2019
Aging Japan to see 25% of breadwinners turn 75 or older by 2040: report
Japan's rapidly-aging society will see a quarter of its breadwinners turn 75 or older by 2040, the Nikkei daily has reported, citing a study from the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research. The total number of head-of-households who are 75 years of age ...
National Dec 1, 2018
Over half of Japanese choose not to obtain My Number cards: survey
The Cabinet Office finds more than half of 3,000 Japanese aged 18 or over questioned during survey have chosen not to obtain My Number social security and taxation identification cards.
Business Oct 18, 2018
Mitch McConnell says Senate Republicans might revisit Obamacare repeal if they win midterms
Republicans could try again to repeal Obamacare if they win enough seats in U.S. elections next month, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said on Wednesday, calling a failed 2017 push to repeal the health care law a "disappointment." In a forecast of 2019 policy goals ...
National / Science & Health Feb 13, 2018
April 1 marks start of Japan's new medical fees and processes
by Tomoko Otake
The new medical prices are out. Last week, after more than a year of intense deliberations among various stakeholders, a panel under the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry released a long list of changes to the nation's medical fees. The fee review, which takes place every ...
National Jan 11, 2018
Number of households in Japan on welfare hit record high in October
The number of households in Japan receiving welfare increased by 634 in October from the previous month to hit a record high of 1,642,907, up for the sixth straight month, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has announced. The growth reflects an increase in ...
Business Dec 22, 2017
by Alex Martin
The Cabinet approves a draft budget of ¥97.7 trillion for fiscal 2018, breaking the record for the sixth year straight.