Parliament enacts revised pension reform bill
Parliament on Friday enacted a revised pension reform bill that calls for a measure to shore up basic pension benefits.
The legislation passed the House of Councilors, the upper chamber of the Diet, by a majority vote, receiving support from the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito ruling coalition, the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan (CDP) and others.
The basic pension improvement plan was initially not included in the government-submitted bill, reflecting opposition among LDP members, but a supplementary provision calling for such a measure was added following an agreement between the ruling bloc and the CDP. The revised bill had cleared the House of Representatives, the lower chamber, last month.
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