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 (2004年) 平成16年5月18日（火） |
 参考： 大野功統がアメリカ上院の特別委員会で行った証言 (一部抜粋） |
Hearing"Strengthening Socal Security: Can We Learn from Other Ｎａｔｉｏｎｓ？” Senate Special Committee on Aging May 18,2004 Thank you,Mr.Chairman: I am extremely honored to be here to testify before the Senate Special Committee on Aging the Japanese pension reform now under deliberation in the Diet. In Japan, the pension reform is badly needed because our society is dramatically aging with fewer children. The Japanese people are living longer. This is one of the greatest achievements of our society. Page 5 of my written testimony shows how dramatically the Japanese society is aging. This also shows that the discrepancy of life expectany between men and women is getting wider and wider. Why? But that is another story, Living longer is a great pleasure, and we should not turn this pleasure into anxiety.( page 1) More serious problem than living long is extremely low birth rates. Currently, the birth rate is 1.32 per woman. It was 2.14 in 1965.Thus the Japanese population would halve by the end of the 21st century. As you see at Page7,the average age of first marriage is going up now. At their 20s, unmarried women occupies 2/3 of the total. Thus,age dependency ratio is, as you see at page 8. 9.1 working persons paid into the pension system to support one retiree back in 1965.Now 3.4 persons support one retiree. 1.4 is estimated to support one in 2050. Under such circumstances,it is necessary to raise contributions and lower benefits every five years when the pension system is reviewed, and people are losing trust on their pension system. The most important task is to restore confidence in the pension system and make it sustainable for at least 100 years to come. This is, in my analysis, the fundamental purpose of the current reform because the DNA of the Japanese people is security. The gist of our pension reform plan is as follows.( page 2) First sustainability. In order to make the Japanese pension system sustainable for the coming 100 years, we decided to restructure the level of benefits and contributions, as you see at page 9. On the point of the level of benefits,we decided that the minimum level of pension benefits should be above 50% of the average income of working people;it is now almost 60%. The level of contributions of the Employees' Pension,currently 13.58%, will be gradually raised to 18.3% over 14 years, each year by 0.354%. We also decided to raise the tax-financed part of the Basic Pension from 1/3 to 1/2 within five years. In addition to the above, first, we are going to cut down benefits for working people over the age of 70 and with high income. Second, government proposed that, in case of a working husband and non-working wife, working husband's income-related benefits be divided half and half when both of the couple reach the age of 65. But we thought that dividing half and half of the husband's income-related benefits might be a stimulus to divorce of the loved couple, So we made the system in which the benefits will be half only when they are divorced. (Page 3) The opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan, proposed its draft law against ours, Main points of the proposal are: First, integration of the three categories of pension systems, that is to say, the National Pension, the Employees' Pension, and the Mutual Aid Pension, as you see at Page 2. Second, the rise in consumption tax instead of raising contribution level, and others. Final agreement was reached, between goverment parties and opposition parties, that we will discuss the matters of integration later on. The draft law of the pension reform passed the House of Representatives and will pass the House of Councillors by the end of this diet session. It is said in Japan that the pension is a gift from young generation to parents and grand parents. However, because of the rapidly aging society with fewer children, the Japanese pension system is becoming unfair between generations. People of my age are to receive benefits eight times of the paid contributions in case of Employees' Pension. But people born in 1985 and after will receive benefits only 2.3 times of the paid contributions.( Page 4) However, in the framework of the pension system, we will see not only the remittance of money but also we will see the gift of warm heart, which is most important in our human society. And yet, the most important is to produce more babies. If we are successful in marking the Japanese society more favorable for the youngsters to produce more babies, it is not necessary at all to discuss the level of contributions and benefits, and all the serious problems will be solved. I am sure that producing more babies is the most fundamental reform of the pension system in Japan. Thank you, Mr,Chairman. |
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