There is something fuzzy about Tuesday's Lower House vote on the pension reform bills. The package was supported by the ruling parties, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito. But the opposition Democratic Party of Japan approved only a proviso that calls for the integration of the complex pension system. The DPJ is opposed to the government-sponsored package, which it sees as inimical to its proposal for an integrated system.
The three-party agreement says a subcommittee will be created in both houses to review the social security system, including the issue of pension integration. The panel is to "reach a conclusion" by March 2007, but the phrase is open to interpretation. There is no guarantee that it will decide in favor of integration; nor is it clear exactly what integration means.
Thus the pension debate remains confused, and the public is growing uneasy over where it will lead. Adding to the unease is the failure of Diet members, including Cabinet ministers, to pay into the obligatory national pension fund. About the only certainty now is that the package, expected to pass the Diet by mid-June, is designed to make ends meet by raising premiums and reducing benefits over the long haul.
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