National Sep 24, 2021
Pension system reform emerges as important LDP election issue
Kono called for creating a guaranteed minimum portion of public pension that is completely funded by tax revenues instead of premiums.
National / Social Issues May 6, 2021
Nationwide survey sheds light on plight of Japan's young carers
by Satoshi Iizuka
Poll finds 5.7% and 4.1% of junior and senior high school students, respectively, take care of family members, including younger siblings, those with disabilities and older relatives.
National Apr 12, 2021
6% of Japan's second-year junior high students are 'young carers'
The results of the survey on young carers will be used to draw up detailed measures for inclusion in the government's basic economic and fiscal policy guidelines.
National Apr 9, 2021
Japan's Diet starts talks on medical fee hike for older people
The envisaged cost hike to 20% is expected to affect some 3.7 million people.
Business Mar 26, 2021
The Diet on Friday enacted a record ¥106.61 trillion budget for fiscal 2021 to finance steps to mitigate the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic as well as rising social security and defense costs, once again forgoing fiscal consolidation. The House of Councilors passed the budget ...
National Mar 17, 2021
Japan's welfare councils work to stymie loans for people in need
Loan applications have surged from around 10,000 to 1.7 million since the introduction of a special measure in response to COVID-19, according to the welfare ministry.
National Mar 16, 2021
The package features a program in which low-income households with children will receive ¥50,000 in cash per child.
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Feb 13, 2021
The uneasy state of Japan’s welfare system
by Philip Brasor
The LDP and business community have been undermining Japan's lifetime employment system in order to make it easier for employers to hire and fire, and to set salaries to their liking.
National | FOCUS Feb 8, 2021
Japanese nurseries' attempts to cut operations during pandemic spark confusion
Requests to keep children at home, made by municipalities in coronavirus hotspot areas, come amid the closure of a number of nurseries due to cluster infections among staff and children.
National | FOCUS Jan 9, 2021
Basic income proposal by influential Suga adviser hard to sell in Japan
by Satoshi Iizuka
The idea has caught Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's eye at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is stirring worries about job security and social inequality.
Commentary / World Jan 5, 2021
What is your moral plan for 2021?
by Peter Singer and Agata Sagan
Few people when making their New Year’s resolutions— just 12%, according to one U.S. study — resolve to become a better person in general, meaning better in a moral sense.
National Dec 12, 2020
Japan to combine My Number card with driver's licenses by 2025
Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga said Friday that the government will aim to integrate the My Number social security and taxation identification card with driver's licenses by the end of fiscal 2024, earlier than the previous target of 2026. At a meeting of a working group ...