Japan's Lower House OKs Revised Pension Reform Bill

   Tokyo, May 30 (Jiji Press)--Japan's House of Representatives on Friday approved a revised pension reform bill that calls for a measure to shore up basic pension benefits.
   The bill passed the lower chamber of the country's parliament at the day's plenary meeting by a majority vote, with support from the ruling camp and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan. The bill is expected to be enacted during the current Diet session ending in June after being sent to the House of Councillors, the upper chamber.
   The level of basic pension benefits for all citizens is expected to decrease by about 30 pct in three decades due to the country's shrinking and aging population.
   The revised bill, submitted jointly by the two ruling parties of the Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, plus the CDP, features a supplementary provision that calls for shoring up basic pension benefits through the use of reserve funds from the "kosei nenkin" public pension program for corporate and government workers that pay additional benefits, if the 2029 review of public pension finances predicts a significant decrease in basic pension benefits.
   The government initially sought to include a basic pension improvement plan in the pension reform bill but eventually dropped it following criticism among some LDP members that the planned measure would be a misappropriation of kosei nenkin funds.

(2025/05/30-15:08)

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