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.
Few foreign residents aware of public nursing care plan but more expected to tap it as Japan grays
The number of foreign people living and retiring in Japan is expected to increase following the overhaul of the nation's immigration control law in April, which will introduce new types of working visas. However, only a small number of these residents appear fully aware of ...
The 100-year life and public pension reform
Is it possible for people who live to 100 to receive sufficient pension benefits for 35 years?
Japanese lawmakers from both sides lay into labor ministry over costly jobs data debacle
Ruling and opposition lawmakers on Thursday criticized the labor ministry for releasing faulty jobs data for more than a decade in the first Diet discussions held on the issue since the scandal broke in December. Labor minister Takumi Nemoto apologized for the debacle, which led ...
Ministry corrects stats but admits many records lost in data scandal that left 20 million underpaid
The labor ministry releases corrected personal income statistics going back to 2012 after the discovery of sampling irregularities stretching back years that resulted in compensation to millions going unpaid.
To regain the public's trust in the government's statistics, how officials erred needs to be exposed and measures taken to ensure such problems are not repeated.
Social Good Roasters: Balancing coffee and community
Social Good Roasters is a social welfare organization that specifically employees people with disabilities such as Down syndrome and autism and teaches them everything from how to sort unroasted coffee beans to the process of brewing and roasting.
In long-lived Japan, survey finds 20-year-olds don't want to live into their 80s
A survey has found that young Japanese in their 20s don't want to live into their 80s — a startling revelation in a country where the life expectancies for both men and women routinely rank among the world's highest. Men and women between 20 and ...
Business, society and government remain largely closed to change.
Elderly women to bear the brunt of Japan's spending cuts
As Japanese society ages and the government cuts social welfare spending, older women are bracing for the impact. "The only people who can enjoy living until 100 are those who have enough money and family," said Setsuko Betsui, a 78-year-old woman living in Saitama, who ...
Japan beefs up child welfare measures after 'soul-crushing' abuse death
The central government is taking emergency steps to boost the number of child welfare workers by 60 percent within five years, spurred by the death of a child whose handwritten notes seeking forgiveness from her abusive parents have shaken Japan. The death in March of ...
Discussions must start now on making sure the social welfare system can meet Japan's future needs.
