The Supreme Court declared on Friday that it is constitutional for the government to deny five handicapped people disability pension benefits because they were not enrolled in the public pension scheme while they were students.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The four-justice second petty bench of the top court turned down the appeal of the five plaintiffs, who were seeking to get the Tokyo High Court's decision rejecting their demands overturned.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The plaintiffs became physically disabled in various accidents when they were students.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Until 1991, students aged 20 or older could choose whether to join or not join 'kokumin nenkin,' the national pension scheme. The pension law was later revised to require all people 20 or older to join the pension scheme.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Justice Osamu Tsuno, the presiding judge in the case, said the government was not unfair or discriminatory in allowing them to choose between opting in and opting out to take into account a person's ability to pay premium payments and the need and the benefit of taking out such pension policies.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The justice also brushed aside the argument that the government neglected to perform its duty to establish proper legislation by exempting students from the pension scheme.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>The five plaintiffs are all men between the ages of 40 and 48. They reside in Tokyo, Chiba and Niigata prefectures.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>In 2005, the Tokyo High Court annulled two district court rulings that accepted the plaintiffs' argument and ordered the government to pay damages.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>Similar suits have been filed at nine district courts nationwide, and three so far have ruled in favor of the plaintiffs. But the plaintiffs' demands were all rejected by higher courts.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>In April 2005, the government launched a relief measure to pay disabled people who are not in the pension program &#165;40,000 to &#165;50,000 a month in benefits. The number of former students receiving the monthly relief benefits is about 3,700.</PARAGRAPH> <PARAGRAPH>But that is less than the &#165;66,000 to &#165;83,000 a month in benefits that disabled people paying into the pension plan are entitled to receive.</PARAGRAPH> <SUBHEAD> Rights for disabled</SUBHEAD> <PARAGRAPH> NEW YORK –

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura on Friday signed an international convention for protecting and promoting the rights and dignity of people with disabilities.

Japan is the 115th nation to sign the convention.