The Democratic Party of Japan on Thursday submitted a bill to the Diet aimed at abolishing the state-run pension plan for lawmakers -- which is said to be more generous than other pension plans available to the public -- by the end of the year.
This opposition maneuver comes one day after the ruling coalition agreed to eliminate the program next year as part of a reform drive.
"We do not know if the ruling parties are serious (about the abolition)," said a DPJ official. "The Democratic Party of Japan will lead debates on the elimination."
The DPJ bill, presented to the House of Representatives, calls for 50 percent reimbursements of the pension premiums already paid into the system by lawmakers who have been in office at least three years.
It also advocates maintaining pension payments to former lawmakers, but with disbursements cut by 30 percent.
Diet members who have been in office for less than three years would not be reimbursed under the DPJ plan.
Lawmakers would stop making premium payments by the end of the year, while reimbursements to current lawmakers and reduced payments to former lawmakers would start in 2007, the DPJ bill says. The coalition's plan advocates reimbursing all premium payments to current lawmakers, while not changing pension payouts to former lawmakers.