After 2025, by when the baby-boomer generation will have turned 75, medical and nursing care expenses will be a severe issue. How should we construct an efficient system of benefits and payments? The author will describe the organization of the current system and measures for efficiency and consider a realistic solution. 1.Rapidly rising medical and nursing care expenses It is widely known that medical and nursing care expenses have been increasing along with the aging population. As we move closer to 2025, when the youngest baby-boomer will turn 75, we cannot find effective measures for rapidly rising medical and nursing care expenses. At the beginning of this discussion, the author will describe the organization of the current situation of medical and nursing care expenses. According to the “The Financial Statistics of Social Security in Japan ” published by the National Institute of Population and ... ... [Read more]

Key points: Private sector financial surplus can offset government financial deficit Domestic liquidity may be tight in second half of 2020s Long-term interest rates could rise before deficit in current account At a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy last January 23, the Cabinet Office announced its “Economic and Fiscal Projections for Medium to Long Term Analysis.” The projections show that, even if economic growth is achieved as targeted under its growth scenario, the government now projects that a surplus will not be achieved in the central and local government primary balance until the fiscal year ending March, 2028, or two years later than the last projection made in July, 2017. Debt repayment will be limited since a portion of the increased revenue from the October 2019 consumption tax hike will be allocated to childcare support, and total factor productivity (representing ... ... [Read more]

Key Points Japan has lagged behind in terms of human investment because of excessively expanded social insurance. Low-income earners are disadvantaged in terms of the social insurance burden and benefits. Reforms are needed that require middle- and high-income earners to make self-help efforts. The government has published the “New Economic Policy Package”, and drafted the fiscal 2018 Budget  including annual tax reforms, with human resource development as the central pillar. I do not object to this direction, but there has been little analysis and verification of problems in the existing system based on data and evidence. The burden will be forced on children who lack voting rights if the budget deficit increases to improve childcare and education. In this article, I will discuss the tasks and remedies for overcoming the declining birthrate and aging population. Human capital investment is a common issue in advanced ... ... [Read more]

Key Points Policy switches in multiple fields have become an issue in advanced countries. The conversion of Japan’s social security systems to whole-generation social security produced results of a certain level. A future vision for a society to aim for should be clarified. The administration headed by Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has advanced support for women’s employment and working style reforms since 2015 under its slogan of promoting the dynamic engagement of all citizens. In December 2017, the Abe cabinet decided on a package of new economic policies and announced new measures for assisting with childcare and education in the name of human resources development in addition to measures collectively referred to as a productivity revolution. An outline of these measures is provided below. As measures for supporting childcare, the government will uniformly dispense with fees for using authorized facilities, such as kindergartens and ... ... [Read more]