The Democratic Party of Japan has finally made public its preliminary financial calculations for pension reform it is advocating. Although the DPJ's proposal is not perfect, both the government and political parties should accelerate their discussions on how to strengthen Japan's pension system as the graying of the population is rapidly progressing.

According to the National Institute of Population and Security Research, Japan's population will fall from 128.06 million in 2010 to 86.74 million in 2060. About two out of every five people will be 65 years or older. In 2010, 2.8 people in the working population (those 15 to 64 years of age) were supporting one retiree on average. By 2060, 1.3 people in the working population will have to support one aged person.

The DPJ plan calls for the current three pension schemes — one for corporate workers, one for public sector workers and one for the self-employed or jobless — to be integrated into one scheme. While people will still pay premiums in proportion to their incomes, tax revenue will be used to ensure that everyone receives a monthly pension of at least ¥70,000. To achieve this goal, in addition to the government's plan to raise the consumption tax rate to 10 percent in October 2015, the tax rate must be raised by 2.3 to 7.1 percentage points, depending on what kinds of people will be covered by the minimum pension of ¥70,000 a month.