社会保障 持続可能な制度へ論戦深めよ

The Yomiuri Shimbun (Nov. 27, 2012)
Parties must deepen debate on sustainable welfare system
社会保障　持続可能な制度へ論戦深めよ（11月26日付・読売社説）

　◇年金などの給付抑制が不可欠だ

Political parties must engage in policy discussions on how to build a sustainable social security system.
　持続可能な社会保障制度をどう築くか、各党は現実的な政策を競い合うべきだ。

The nation's population is aging quickly amid a chronically low birthrate. The present "cavalry-type" society in which every senior citizen is sustained by 2.4 people of the working population will change into a "piggyback-type" one in 30 years in which there will be only 1.3 people for every retirement-age Japanese.
　少子高齢化が急速に進む。１人の高齢者を２・４人の現役世代で支える今の「騎馬戦型」社会は、３０年後には１人を１・３人で支える「肩車型」社会になる。

If nothing is done to prevent this, the collapse of Japan's welfare system will only be a matter of time.
このままでは社会保障制度は早晩行き詰まるだろう。

　◆一体改革の意義説明を◆

To help reconstruct state finances while covering rising social security costs, the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito joined hands to pass the bill on integrated reform of the social security and tax systems. The centerpiece of this bill was a planned doubling of the consumption tax rate.
　増え続ける社会保障支出を賄い、財政を再建するため、民主、自民、公明の３党は消費税率の引き上げを柱とする社会保障と税の一体改革関連法を成立させた。

People's Life First and some other parties, however, want the planned tax increase rescinded. Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party), on the other hand, says the social security system should not be sustained with the consumption tax." This is a questionable argument.
　だが、国民の生活が第一などは消費増税の撤回を掲げている。日本維新の会は「消費税で社会保障を賄うのは不可」としているが、疑問だ。

The DPJ, the LDP and Komeito need to elaborate on the significance of the welfare and tax system reforms during campaigning for next month's House of Representatives election.
民自公３党は、衆院選で改革の意義を丁寧に訴える必要がある。

It is disconcerting that every party tends to trumpet only support for increasing welfare benefits and lessening the burdens on the public as they try to pander to voters during the election campaign.
　懸念されるのは、各政党が選挙戦で有権者の歓心を買おうと、社会保障給付の拡充や負担軽減ばかりを唱えがちになることだ。

If welfare benefits are expanded without a clear objective, the inescapable result will be an endless rise in the consumption tax rate.
　漫然と給付を拡大するなら、際限なく消費増税を続けなければならない。

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Benefit outlays must be cut

Parties have a responsibility to explain how they will cap social security benefits.
　社会保障給付の抑制策を提示することは、政治の責任である。

The revised National Pension Law enacted during the recent extraordinary Diet session was aimed at reining in pension payments. This should be applauded. The law revision will ensure pensions that had been overpaid by 2.5 percent will return to originally set levels.
　年金給付を抑制するため、臨時国会で、改正国民年金法が成立したことは評価できる。２・５％の過払いとなっている給付が、ようやく本来の水準に戻される。

To ensure pensions can be stably provided, payment levels must be lowered further in accordance with the shifting demographics and changes in wages.
　年金財政の安定には、人口や賃金の変動に合わせて、年金水準をさらに引き下げる必要がある。

Given the declining working population and erosion in wage levels caused by the sluggish economy, workers who pay pension premiums are shouldering heavier financial burdens. This will widen the generational gap in pension payments and make it inevitable that younger generations will receive smaller payments compared with their contribution of premiums and taxes. This will make it difficult to maintain the pension system.
　労働力人口の減少や、不況に伴う賃金水準の低下で、年金保険料を納める現役世代の負担は重くなる一方だ。保険料や税の負担に比べ、給付が若い世代ほど少なくなる「世代間格差」が拡大し、制度の維持は難しくなる。

We urge the parties to also discuss how to expand the application of the corporate employees pension plan to nonregular workers, who have been increasing sharply, and what can be done for people who receive small pensions or none at all.
　急増する非正規労働者に対する厚生年金の適用拡大や、低年金・無年金者対策についても論じてもらいたい。

In its effort to overhaul the pension system, the DPJ calls for establishing a guaranteed minimum pension payment. If this minimum monthly payment of 70,000 yen is to be covered by tax revenue, the consumption tax will have to be increased by up to another 6.2 percentage points. The likelihood that this proposal will be implemented is low.
　民主党は年金制度を抜本的に見直そうと「最低保障年金」の創設を提唱している。だが、民主党が従来「月７万円」としてきた給付額を税財源で賄うと、消費税をさらに最大６・２％引き上げる必要があり、実現性に乏しい。

The draft of the DPJ campaign platform for the upcoming election does not mention any concrete figure for the minimum pension payment, apparently a reaction to the criticism it received on this issue.
　今回の衆院選の政権公約（マニフェスト）原案に給付額の記載がないのは、こうした批判を意識したためだろう。

On the other hand, the LDP and Komeito want the current system maintained, but neither has shown enough concrete steps to keep it intact.
　一方、自民、公明両党は現行制度の維持を主張しているが、そのための具体策は十分ではない。

We urge each party to present its vision for the public pension system and ways to improve it.
　各党は、年金の将来像と制度の改善策を示すべきだ。

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Health insurance facing crisis
　◆危機的な健康保険財政◆

As baby boomers will be 75 or older in 2025, demand for health and nursing care will rise. It can safely be said that the improvement of at-home medical and nursing care and the upgrading of nursing care facilities are needed urgently.
　団塊世代が７５歳以上の後期高齢者となる２０２５年に向けて、医療や介護の需要は増大する。在宅医療・介護サービスの拡充や、介護施設の整備は急務と言える。

The DPJ asserts that the medical insurance system for elderly people 75 or older should be abolished, and people in this age group transferred to the national health insurance program.
　民主党は、後期高齢者医療制度を廃止し、７５歳以上の高齢者は国民健康保険に移行することを主張している。

But this medical insurance system has taken root, and there is little need to ax it.
　だが、この制度は既に定着しており、廃止の必要性は希薄だ。

The LDP claims "the current system will be the base" of its plans. But some points need to be corrected.
　自民党は「現行制度が基本」としているが、改めるべき点はあろう。

Due to the sizable contributions paid to the medical insurance system for the elderly, the finances of health insurance programs have fallen into a critical state. One such case is the National Health Insurance Association, which chiefly covers workers at small and midsize companies and their families.
高齢者医療への巨額の拠出金で、協会けんぽなどの健康保険財政が危機に陥っている。

Each party needs to think harder about how the current system can be reviewed.
　各党は制度の見直しに、もっと知恵を絞る必要がある。

Time is of the essence for abolishing a special measure limiting out-of-pocket payments for medical bills people aged 70 to 74 pay to 10 percent of the total, and raising the limit to 20 percent as prescribed by law.
　７０～７４歳の医療費の窓口負担を１割に抑える特例措置をやめ、法律の規定通り２割負担に引き上げることも懸案だ。

Medical costs have been creeping up partly because elderly patients often have medical consultations and checks at more than one institution and receive duplicate medication, and due to soaring dispensing fees. These costs must be brought down to reasonable levels.
　複数の医療機関の受診や検査、投薬の重複、急増する調剤費など医療費の適正化も求められる。

Nursing care services are also being provided to some people whose need for it is not so pressing. Issues that need to be discussed include whether the out-of-pocket burdens of nursing care service bills should be raised and making sure people who need these services most are given priority.
　介護サービスは、現在は要介護状態ほど重くない要支援者も対象になっているが、今後は自己負担の引き上げや重度の要介護者への重点給付が検討課題になろう。

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Roles of new council

Our society also needs to do more to rectify the low birthrate. The total fertility rate--the average number of children each woman has in her lifetime--was just 1.39 in 2011.
　少子化対策にも力を入れなければならない。１人の女性が産む子供の数を示す合計特殊出生率は、１１年に１・３９と低水準だ。

Under the comprehensive reform of the social security and tax systems, 700 billion yen of the revenue generated by the consumption tax increase will be allocated to child-rearing support. It is also important to consider how to find money for steps to boost the birthrate. The nation will still spend less on this than European countries do.
　社会保障と税の一体改革で、消費増税分のうち７０００億円を子育て支援に充てることになっている。それでも欧州諸国に比べ依然少ない少子化対策費をどう確保するか、という観点も重要だ。

　◆国民会議の役割は重い◆

The soon-to-be established national council on social security system reform will have crucial roles to play. It needs to discuss how to build a solid social security system and to prepare ways to hold down benefit payments.
　近く設置される社会保障制度改革国民会議が果たす役割は小さくない。信頼できる社会保障体制の構築を議論し、給付の抑制策をまとめる必要がある。

Unless the social security system is stable, people will remain anxious about their future. Regardless of which party holds power, it should maintain the current system while making modifications to accommodate the changing state of society. With this in mind, we hope each party will take part in constructive debates on this matter.
　社会保障制度は安定したものでなければ、国民の不安は解消しない。どの政党が政権についても、制度を維持しながら、状況の変化に応じて修正を加えていくべきである。それを念頭に、建設的な論戦を展開してもらいたい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Nov. 26, 2012)
（2012年11月26日01時20分  読売新聞）