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Japanese editorial excerpts+(Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) TOKYO, Jan. 18_(Kyodo) _ Selected editorial excerpts from the Japanese press: GOVT SHOULD PAVE WAY FOR SOCIAL SECURITY TAX (The Daily Yomiuri as translated from the Yomiuri Shimbun) The economic crisis that has engulfed the world is instilling anxiety into people's lives. The government obviously has to focus on economic reconstruction and recovery. But at the same time, it is vital to make the social security system unshakable. The nation faces a chronic, rapid aging of the population combined with an extremely low birthrate. In this situation, those who support the social security system will not be able to endure the burden imposed on them if the government tries to maintain social security benefits under the current system, which largely relies on the generations still working. The burden of providing financial resources for welfare should be spread widely among both young and old, with each paying a small portion. Financial resources should be properly secured by renaming the current consumption tax the "social security tax," to be solely used for social security purposes, and raising its rate. In its basic policy for overhauling the tax system over the medium term, the government and the ruling parties specified an increase in the consumption tax rate from fiscal 2011 on the premise of economic recovery. To clarify the amount by which the social security tax should be hiked, it is vital to have a reform plan aimed at making each category of the social security system -- pension, medical and nursing care -- function properly in the rapidly graying society with a declining birthrate. Last year, The Yomiuri Shimbun proposed pension system reforms that included the establishment of minimum guaranteed pension benefits for low-income elderly people and the waiving of pension premiums for parents for three years after they have a child. The Yomiuri also proposed a comprehensive plan to reform medical and nursing care services whose main aim is to distribute doctors systematically and evenly. To realize the plan, the tax rate for daily necessities, such as food, would have to be 5 percent, while the rate for other goods and services should be set at 10 percent. Various proposals on pension system reform have been volunteered from every sector of society. All the proposals share the basic assumption that the consumption tax will have to have a double-digit rate in the future. An atmosphere conducive to social security system reform has been developing. The social security system must not be shaken every time the administration changes. To assure the people a secure future, reform of the system must be carried out in a suprapartisan manner. (Jan. 18) Copyright ? 2009 Kyodo News International, Inc. |