閣僚の年金保険料未納発覚 | 英語のニュース

World News

Ministers admit ducking pension fees

Four more Cabinet ministers, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and opposition leader Naoto Kan, said April 28 they failed to pay mandatory premiums for the basic pension system.

Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Toshimitsu Motegi, minister in charge of the information industry and issues related to Okinawa and Hokkaido, also admitted they had not paid.

Earlier, three Cabinet ministers - Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, Home Affairs Minister Taro Aso and Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba - said they had not paid the obligatory premiums.

The revelations dealt another blow to the government and the government-sponsored pension reform bills being deliberated in the Diet.

The public pension system consists of three separate pensions encompassing self-employed workers, public servants and corporate employees. Diet members must pay into the scheme for self-employed people, regardless of whether they are a Cabinet member.

"I misunderstood the system," said Tanigaki, who as head of the Finance Ministry represents a core pillar of the pension reform debates.

The reforms would raise premiums every year until 2017, when the premiums would be 18.3 percent, compared with the current 13.85 percent of corporate workers' annual income. Benefits would meanwhile be gradually reduced. (The Japan Times)

Shukan ST: May 7, 2004

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World News Ministers admit ducking pension fees Four more Cabinet ministers, including Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and opposition leader Naoto Kan, said April 28 they failed to pay mandatory premiums for the basic pension system. Financial Services Minister Heizo Takenaka, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki and Toshimitsu Motegi, minister in charge of the information industry and issues related to Okinawa and Hokkaido, also admitted they had not paid. Earlier, three Cabinet ministers - Trade Minister Shoichi Nakagawa, Home Affairs Minister Taro Aso and Defense Agency chief Shigeru Ishiba - said they had not paid the obligatory premiums. The revelations dealt another blow to the government and the government-sponsored pension reform bills being deliberated in the Diet. The public pension system consists of three separate pensions encompassing self-employed workers, public servants and corporate employees. Diet members must pay into the scheme for self-employed people, regardless of whether they are a Cabinet member. "I misunderstood the system," said Tanigaki, who as head of the Finance Ministry represents a core pillar of the pension reform debates. The reforms would raise premiums every year until 2017, when the premiums would be 18.3 percent, compared with the current 13.85 percent of corporate workers' annual income. Benefits would meanwhile be gradually reduced. (The Japan Times) Shukan ST: May 7, 2004 (C) All rights reserved