[Note: The following is an excerpt from the August 1995 edition of Social Science Japan, the newsletter of the Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo. Air mail subscription to SSJ is free, and can be arranged by e-mailing your surface-mail address to ssjinfo[atx]iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp -- Please write "Sub SSJ"
in the subject header of your message.]
----------------------

REBUILDING THE SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM
The Report of the Prime Minister's Advisory Council on Social Security, July 1995

(Shakai hoshou taisei no saikouchiku: anshin shite kuraseru 21seiki no shakai wo mezashite)

Reviewed by Mari OSAWA, Associate Professor of Social Policy, Institute of Social Science, University of Tokyo.

LAST month the Advisory Council on Social Security delivered to the Prime Minister its strongest set of recommendations in 33 years. These recommendations fall into four categories.

First, the government currently adds the burden of social insurance premiums and other forms of taxation to derive the "national burden". The government's stated top priority is to prevent this national burden from exceeding 50% of national income, even in the face of Japan's ageing society. But this "national burden"
reflects only part of the cost of a maintaining a decent standard of living for all citizens. Hence, the report advocates using the word "public" rather than "national":

"If the public burden... were increased and a truly comprehensive social security system established, then the burden on individuals (for example, payments for medical treatment or welfare services, private insurance, or support, care and rearing in the family) and the burden on companies would be reduced. Conversely, if the public burden were reduced, the burdens on individuals and companies would increase."

The Council has thus recognized that the unpaid, mostly female, work of raising children and caring for the sick and elderly in the home, is part of the nation's social security burden.

Second, the report highlights inequalities in social security provision depending on region, profession, size of employer and gender. In order to resolve gender inequalities, the Council recommends that the basis of social security be the individual rather than the household as at present. Spouses supported by employees currently pay no basic national pension nor health insurance contributions, and have no access to employees' income-related pensions. (Note: such spouses have an annual income of less than 1.3 million yen. They number approximately 12 million, of whom 99.7% are women). The Council advises extension of income-related pensions to cover part-time employees, equity in spousal pension rights, and reform of survivors' pensions.

Third, the report recommends establishing a public insurance nursing system, under which care services for the elderly would be funded from social insurance.
This recommendation attracted the greatest publicity when the report was published and is in step with the Ministry of Health and Welfare's own plans.

Fourth, the report urges reform of the qualifications for the basic old-age pension. To qualify for a basic pension under the present system, one must join the pension scheme and pay contributions for at least 25 years. The report calls a reduction in the numbers of senior citizens failing to qualify for a pension due to their not having joined the scheme early enough or not having paid sufficient contributions.

Taken as a whole, the Council's report is surprisingly gender-sensitive. We await the government's response.