Pension Reform Showdown

Two leading parties, Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito, with orphan Japan Restoration Party, coercively passed bills for revision of pension system in a committee in House of Representatives on Friday, which included new rule for reducing reward in the future. Although the opposite parties demanded thorough discussion on the basic welfare system of Japan, the leading coalition forced to conclude it. It is business as usual for Shinzo Abe administration to rely on overwhelming majority when a discussion cannot see the end.

New rule in the bills was to reduce payment to the recipients of pension system, when wage of contemporary workers would decline. Under the current rule, amount of pension payment can be maintained when workers’ wage is reduced, if commodity price were rising. To stabilize pension system, Abe administration plans to introduce new rule of payment reduction in 2021. The existing rule of macroeconomic slide, in which the payment is going to be reduced by 1% every year, will also be reinforced in 2018.

The opposite parties were against reducing payment with regard to poor situation of aged people dependent on pension system. “Abe administration does not see actual situation of aged people. If the payment is reduced, Japanese pension system cannot be working as it should be,” told Akira Nagatsuma, former Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare in a Cabinet led by Democratic Party of Japan.

Prime Minister Abe did not care about opposing opinions. In spite of the fact that the bill will actually reduce the payment, Abe insisted that the bill is to maintain the level of pension payment in the future. “New rule can secure fairness between generations and young agers will be comfortably support pension system for old agers,” said Abe in the discussion of Committee for Health, Labor and Welfare in House of Representatives.

As seen in every aspect of discussions in the Diet, Abe got short-tempered in the Committee. “If you do not understand my argument at all, this discussion is meaningless even how long we continue it,” said Abe. For him, lawmakers are at their seats only to approve his policy, making no difference from Kim Jong-un or some dictators in history. He participates in the discussion, answers to some questions, failing in persuading and rushing into showdown with majority power.

Politics is art of persuasion. Abe always pretends to be doing that, only resulting in failure. But, he has power of majority and do not hesitate to exercise it, especially in his second term. Consensus leaving discontents behind is vulnerable and tends to be turned down in the future.