Bill that would raise Japanese pension benefits on track to pass parliament
The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito are preparing to accept an opposition party proposal to amend a pension reform bill, paving the way for its enactment during the current session of parliament.
The ruling bloc will back the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's amendment, which includes a plan to raise basic pension benefits, senior LDP and Komeito members said Saturday.
With the proposal getting the nod, including from LDP members who had demanded the increased benefits be scrapped from the original draft, the bill is likely to pass during the current session, which ends June 22.
The level of basic pension benefits, provided to all citizens, is expected to slump over time due to the country's shrinking and aging population.
The government had sought to include in the bill a plan to hike basic pension benefits by tapping reserves of the kōsei nenkin public pension program for corporate and government workers, as well as state coffers.
However, some in the LDP expressed concerns that this would briefly lower kōsei nenkin benefits and create a fresh burden for citizens. Senior party members in the Upper House opposed the plan, out of worries about its impact on this summer's election.
The benefit-raising plan is absent from the pension reform bill, which the government recently submitted to parliament.
The CDP slammed the move, saying that the bill lacks the most important element, comparing it to an "anpan (bean paste bun) without bean paste." On Thursday, it presented to the ruling bloc an outline of its proposed amendment saying that basic pension benefits would be hiked if benefit levels are found to decrease in the government's 2029 public pension review.
Senior LDP members including Secretary-General Hiroshi Moriyama and Masaji Matsuyama, the party's secretary-general in the Upper House, held intermittent discussions Friday and agreed broadly to reflect the CDP amendment in the bill as a supplementary provision.
The CDP's proposed amendment "is in line with Komeito's original call," Komeito leader Tetsuo Saito told reporters Saturday in Satte, Saitama Prefecture. "It will lead to a sense of security for the working generation."
The ruling parties and the CDP are slated to discuss the issue again on Monday. If they agree, they will amend the bill, aiming to pass it through the Lower House and send it on to the Upper House within the month.
Some LDP executives have proposed that Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, the president of the LDP, and CDP President Yoshihiko Noda meet to give a final confirmation of the expected agreement, in order to ensure the bill's enactment during the current parliamentary session.
Speaking to reporters in Funabashi, Chiba Prefecture, Noda said he wants to have the bill pass the Lower House by next weekend.
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