 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Li Ying Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan plans to overhaul his country's social security and tax system by June, potentially bringing a financial "burden" to bear on the public. In a speech at Parliament Monday, Kan asked the public to help offset the cost of a rapidly graying society - a reference to a future rise in the current 5 percent consumption tax, according to AFP. "Limits are emerging to the securing of greater revenues for social security through only existing efforts," Kan said. With the lowest consumption tax rate among advanced nations, only half of Japan's current pension program comes from tax revenue, Japan's Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper said. Meanwhile, Japan's national debt is the largest in the industrialized world at twice the size of the $5 trillion economy, according to AFP. The aging population is adding further pressure through welfare costs and a revenue shortfall. An increase in the consumption tax rate is seen as being key to boosting the social security system, including healthcare, care for the elderly and pensions. Ryo Takeuchi, a student at the Kyoto University of Foreign Studies, told the Global Times Monday that a sense of insecurity is widespread among Japa-nese citizens. "The young generation fears that the pension burden on them will only get heavier. As a result, they tend to save more than before," Takeuchi said. The elderly who gain most from the social security system are usually not active consumers, which is not helpful to the domestic economic boom, he added. |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
