Social security reform draft is ground for further debate
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry compiled its draft for social security reform Thursday and submitted it to the Council for Intensive Discussion on Social Security Reform, headed by Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
The panel will proceed with its own discussions on social security reform with the draft as a springboard. The panel plans to formulate a proposal for integrated reforms of social security and tax systems by the end of June, with tax reform focusing on ways to squeeze out revenues to finance the proposal.
The ministry proposed in its draft new measures for lessening the burden on low-income earners, including exempting them from payments under social security programs if their total sum of self-pay burdens in health care, nursing care and other programs reach certain levels.
At first glance, the draft provides prescriptions for all important issues.
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Concrete details are missing
The problem is, many of the policy measures lack specifics.
Pension system reform is a good example. The Democratic Party of Japan earlier proposed a system of income-proportionate pensions. However, the ministry's draft says it will take some time to realize the new system and thus improvement of the current pension system has to be dealt with first.
This can be praised as a practical choice. However, the ministry only uses the expression "strengthen the minimum pension guarantee" and stops short of detailing specifics. The draft does not say what the minimum guaranteed amount would be. Nor does it define which low-income earners the guarantee would benefit.
This is because the ministry would have to identify a revenue source for the guarantee if it went into detail. Since the DPJ-led administration itself remains ambiguous on this point, it was inevitable the ministry would leave concrete details to discussions by the panel.
The ministry draft also made no mention of revising aspects of the DPJ's 2009 House of Representatives election manifesto, such as child-rearing allowances or the future form of a health care system for the aged.
To arrive at a substantial and specific final draft that opposition parties will agree to discuss, the DPJ needs to drastically revise its manifesto and offer concrete measures for securing revenue sources, such as an increase in the consumption tax rate. Prime Minister Naoto Kan should exercise leadership in this regard.
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Opposition may agree to talks
The ministry said its draft reflected discussions held by two panels under the administration of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito: the National Council for Social Security and the Council for the Realization of a Reassuring Society.
The direction of social security reform in the ministry's draft matches the philosophy for social security reform demonstrated by the LDP-New Komeito administration. Therefore, opposition parties likely will have no objections on this point. Although the administration has been replaced, social security programs that need to be reformed have not changed. We hope the ruling and opposition parties will jointly grapple with the issue in a way that transcends their established positions.
Social security reform will proceed in parallel with recovery from the Great East Japan Earthquake. The health ministry draft says the task of reconstructing the quake-hit areas should be taken as an opportunity to make them into regional models for improving social security programs.
We think this is a very important viewpoint.
In terms of achieving a "reassuring society," quake recovery and social security reform have things in common. Social security reform and a reconstruction plan scheduled to be devised by the government in June should serve as driving forces toward that end.
University brain power a reconstruction resource
Universities in the Tohoku region, which postponed the start of their new academic year due to the Great East Japan Earthquake, began classes this month.
Students have returned to their campuses. We hope the universities will overcome the difficulties they have faced in the wake of the March 11 disaster and regain their vitality as soon as possible.
Many universities in the Tohoku region and Ibaraki Prefecture had buildings damaged by the earthquake. In particular, research facilities of science and engineering departments have suffered serious damage. Large-scale equipment for experiments was broken, and some laboratories have become unable to use DNA samples and other valuable materials they were storing.
The damaged facilities must be repaired quickly to restore their research functions. If their restoration is delayed, not only will Japan be left behind in the international research and development race, but a brain drain could occur as talented Japanese researchers move to foreign countries.
The government should secure the necessary budget to prevent universities' research capabilities from declining any further.
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Keep foreign students informed
After the disaster, it was noticed that many foreign students returned home or decided not to enroll at Japanese universities for fear of possible nuclear contamination caused by the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, in addition to a series of strong aftershocks.
The foreign students now seem to be returning to their campuses because the universities have contacted them by e-mail and other means and told them not to panic. We hope the government and the universities will continue providing detailed information quickly to the foreign students so they can concentrate on their research and studies without any worries.
Also, universities in the disaster-hit region should take advantage of their respective resources to contribute to reconstruction.
In one example of this, a radiation-measuring team from Fukushima University divided Fukushima Prefecture into two-kilometer squares and measured radiation levels in each. Their data have been provided to local governments and used in drafting evacuation plans.
In another case, Miyagi University of Education has dispatched students who plan to become teachers to disaster-area schools at the request of local boards of education. The students assist professional schoolteachers and also help children study in after-school tutoring sessions.
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New model of cooperation
Tohoku University has decided to establish an interdisciplinary research organization where experts in various fields would work together to study disaster prevention measures and reconstruction ideas. The university is also considering possible cooperation with other universities.
We hope the research organization will combine intelligence from every academic field, compile detailed plans on industrial restoration and construction of disaster-resistant towns, and present its ideas to the central and local governments.
If such university-generated proposals are used in actual reconstruction policies, it will be a new model of cooperation among the industrial, academic and public sectors.
Meanwhile, some universities in the Tokyo metropolitan area are sending students as volunteers to the disaster-hit region. Universities should encourage students to participate in such volunteer activities to support the region over the long term by awarding academic credit for them.
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