In a move that could affect a number of foreign residents in Japan, the government will consider toughening eligibility requirements for welfare benefits as part of its budget review, Taro Kono, the newly appointed minister on administrative reforms, said Friday.
Kono, 52, an outspoken Lower House member who also holds the posts of National Public Safety Commission chairman and minister in charge of disaster management, said he will follow through with a proposal he made last year to cut back on welfare assistance to foreign residents on mid- to long-term visas.
Kono made the proposal in August last year as head of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's project team to eliminate wasteful spending.
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