Japanese Ministry proposes strengthening support for child-raising families

TOKYO, May 12 Kyodo -
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare proposed on Thursday beefing up the government's support for child-rearing families and for young people who are seeking jobs as part of efforts to reform the country's social security scheme, government officials said.
The proposal was incorporated in a set of plans the ministry filed with the day's meeting of a 20-member government panel tasked with reforming Japan's social security and tax systems simultaneously.
It also proposes using tax revenues to reduce the low-income group's burden in pension, health and nursing-care insurance fields.
The package puts emphasis on efforts to achieve equality and promote mutual assistance among generations to make the country's social security system sustainable.
Prime Minister Naoto Kan heads the panel which launched discussions in February on reforms of the country's social security and tax systems simultaneously.
Among the members of the panel are Kaoru Yosano, state minister for economic and fiscal policy, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda, Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Ritsuo Hosokawa, Toyota Motor Corp. Vice Chairman Katsuaki Watanabe and labor leader Nobuaki Koga, president of the Japanese Trade Union Confederation known as Rengo.
The ministry's package puts off a long-discussed unification of public pension schemes for future study and fails to provide an estimate of costs for reforms.
Kan's government plans to work out its plan on reforms of the country's social security and tax systems in June after looking into financial aspects, such as a boost in the 5 percent consumption tax, the officials said.