Social welfare such as pensions, medical and nursing care as well as support measures for families rearing children is an important issue. A fiscal 2009 Cabinet Office survey shows that the largest portion of those polled — 69 percent — want the government's priority to be on establishing a pension system that is equitable and reliable.
Japan's political parties have proposed various social welfare measures that voters will take into consideration in deciding which party to support in the July 11 Upper House election.
The Democratic Party of Japan, which proposed giving a monthly child allowance of ¥26,000 from fiscal 2011 in its manifesto for the 2009 Lower House election, now says local governments can use funds meant to raise the current ¥13,000 monthly allowance for public services like nursery schools.