Public Assistance Ruling: Govt Bears Heavy Responsibility for Failing to Justify Reductions
In lawsuits filed by recipients who argued that significant reductions in welfare benefits violated the Public Assistance Law, the Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that the reductions were illegal and ordered cancellation of the cuts. The ruling has become finalized.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in 29 district courts nationwide, and this ruling sets a precedent for those cases. The central and local governments will likely need to recalculate appropriate amounts not only for the plaintiffs in the lawsuits but also for all other recipients at the time of the cuts.
The standard amounts for welfare benefits serve as a benchmark for other support programs, such as reductions and exemptions for childcare fees and national pension insurance premiums. These programs may also be affected.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced cuts of up to 10% in the standard amounts for food and utilities support welfare benefits during a period from 2013 to 2015, resulting in a total reduction of ¥67 billion. This measure was said to be to respond to the declines in prices and wages following the 2008 collapse of U.S. investment bank Lehman Brothers.
The main point of contention in the litigations was the appropriateness of the 'deflation adjustment' reflecting the rate of price declines.
The Supreme Court said that 'the revised rates in the deflation adjustment based solely on the rates of price fluctuations lacked consistency with expert knowledge,' concluding that 'the health, labor and welfare minister's judgment exceeded or abused discretion and was therefore illegal.'
As for the series of the lawsuits, the cuts were ruled illegal in seven cases at the high court level. The government is considered to have broad discretionary authority, and courts generally tend to respect its judgment. In that sense, the top court's strict ruling can be described as significant.
The review of public assistance was carried out after the Liberal Democratic Party included it in its campaign pledges for the 2012 House of Representatives election. Is there any suspicion that the calculations were distorted to achieve a predetermined reduction? The government should reexamine the decision-making process for the reductions and fulfill its accountability to the public.
Welfare benefits in the public assistance program are received by 1.65 million households, half of which are single-person elderly households. The number of applications for welfare benefits has increased for five consecutive years, probably because more households find it difficult to make ends meet due to the COVID-19 pandemic and rising prices.
The Constitution states, 'All people shall have the right to maintain the minimum standards of wholesome and cultured living,' and imposes on the state the duty to protect this right. Since reductions in welfare benefits directly affect people's lives, clear reasons for cuts are necessary. The government must enhance the transparency of the system.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, June 28, 2025)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Japan Today
14 hours ago
- Japan Today
Australian court fines Qantas $90 million for illegal layoffs
Qantas has been fined for illegally laying off 1,800 ground staff during the Covid-19 pandemic By Laura CHUNG An Australian court fined Qantas Aus$90 million (U.S.$59 million) on Monday for illegally laying off 1,800 ground staff during the COVID-19 pandemic, ending a five-year legal battle over the workers' rights. Federal Court Justice Michael Lee said he wanted the penalty to be a "real deterrence" to firms that might be tempted by the financial rewards of breaching employment law. Qantas decided to sack the workers and outsource their jobs in August 2020, a period of lockdowns and border closures when no COVID-19 vaccine existed. Australia's Federal Court subsequently found that Qantas had acted illegally despite its stated "commercial imperatives" and later dismissed an appeal by the airline. It said the carrier had prevented staff from accessing their rights to collectively bargain or take industrial action. Long-dubbed the "Spirit of Australia", 104-year-old Qantas has been on a mission to repair its reputation, which was hit in recent years by the illegal sackings, soaring ticket prices, claims of sloppy service, and the selling of seats on already-cancelled flights. Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson took over in 2023, promising to improve customer satisfaction. She replaced Alan Joyce, who stepped down earlier than planned as Qantas endured heavy criticism over its treatment of workers and passengers, despite delivering bumper profits for shareholders. Qantas' fine is to be paid in two parts, the court said, with Aus$50 million going to the Transport Workers Union and Aus$40 million being held for future payments to the former workers. The penalty is in addition to a compensation payment of Aus$120 million for affected former employees that Qantas agreed to last year. "It has been five long years. Today is a victory, not just for our colleagues but for all Australian workers," said Anne Guirguis, who worked at Qantas for 27 years cleaning aircraft before being laid off. "We can close this chapter and move on now," Guirguis told reporters outside court. Transport Workers' Union National Secretary Michael Kaine described Monday's decision as a "final win" for the Qantas workers. "Qantas was not sorry to workers when it illegally outsourced these workers, many finding out they'd lost their jobs over a loudspeaker in the lunch room," Kaine said. "Qantas is only sorry now that it has to pay the largest penalty fine of any employer in Australian corporate history." © 2025 AFP
Kyodo News
2 days ago
- Kyodo News
FOCUS: Japan's hard-won status as peace promoter tested 80 yrs after WWII
TOKYO - Japan's role as a peace promoter faces increasing challenges in a conflict-prone world, even as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II the importance of maintaining "remorse" and the lessons learned from the deadly war. The day commemorating the millions of war dead should have been an opportunity for Ishiba to send out a strong message of peace and raise the alarm about the consequences of resorting to force especially as he sees the security environment as "the most severe" in the postwar period amid China's rise and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But Ishiba only addressed a memorial ceremony on Friday, opting not to issue an official government statement to mark the 80th anniversary in break with the tradition of prime ministers who released their own on the 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries. The decision not to release a statement was largely seen as heeding to conservative members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who have been wary to see any remarks from Ishiba that would amount to an apology to countries that suffered under Japan's wartime aggression such as China and South Korea. Regarding the 70th anniversary, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who pushed for Japan to play a greater security role overseas, stopped short of issuing a fresh apology, although he mentioned that Japan has "repeatedly expressed the feelings of deep remorse" and offered its "heartfelt apology for its actions during the war." Abe, a conservative who sought to realize the first-ever amendment of the Constitution drafted during the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II, also said that future generations should not "be predestined to apologize." The 2015 statement has led LDP conservatives to argue that it brought an end to Japan's "apology diplomacy" and that another official statement by Ishiba is unnecessary. The anniversary came as Ishiba, a 68-year-old veteran politician known as an Abe critic, has been facing political headwinds following two key national election losses during his tenure, which started less than a year before. Ishiba is still hoping to make public his personal view on the war, one that does not require Cabinet approval, but whether the statement would carry any substantial meaning remains to be seen. Aiko Utsumi, a professor emeritus of Keisen University specializing in historical sociology, said, "I hope to see a statement by the prime minister that reflects his own views on history and sends a message to Asia on Sept. 2," the day when Japan signed the instrument of surrender in 1945. Ishiba has stressed the need for mutual "trust" and "respect" in relations with other Asian nations that suffered Japan's wartime aggression and colonization. This year, Ishiba traveled to Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, which he said allowed him to "revisit" history. On Iwoto Island, the site of a fierce World War II battle between Japan and the United States in the Pacific, he touted the "stronger-than-ever" bilateral security alliance achieved after the war through reconciliation. "We must give thought to their history, be it that of Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia," he said during a recent event to discuss the future of Asia, underscoring the importance of closer ties with other Asian nations in upholding common values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law. A group of academics had called on Ishiba to issue an official 80th anniversary statement, saying it would serve as "a foundation of Japan's new diplomacy" at a time when the country needs to forge "multifaceted" relationships with countries in the region as U.S. President Donald Trump challenges the existing global order through his "America First" trade and security policies. "We should carefully keep trying to remove the leftovers of prewar Japan that remain in Asian nations. Without such action, it is clear that there will be no true friendship nor cooperation," the Committee of Seven to Appeal for World Peace, founded in 1955 by Nobel Physics prize winner Hideki Yukawa, said in April. To make sure Japan does not repeat the horrors of war, Ishiba vowed on Friday to "hand down across generations the sorrowful memories of the war and our resolute pledge to renounce war." But perceptions of history among the younger generations appear to be shifting, even as many in the public still treasure the pacifism embedded in the Constitution. In a poll by the Japan Association for Public Opinion Research, cited in the Kobe Shimbun daily newspaper earlier this month, the percentage of respondents who thought Japan engaged in "a war of aggression" decreased across all age groups from the 2015 survey, while those aged 29 and under who thought the fighting was "a war for self-defense" more than doubled to 19 percent. Some constitutional experts have expressed concerns over the right-leaning opposition party Sanseito that appears to be broadening its appeal among young people with its "Japanese first" banner. Sanseito, a populist party that rose to prominence through social media, has called for a new Constitution under which the emperor is "sacred." There is also no mention in their proposed Constitution that the sovereignty resides with the people or a guarantee of human rights. The 1947 Constitution, created in response to Japan's wartime aggression, renounces war and bans the possession of military forces and other "war potential" in Article 9. It also defined the emperor as "the symbol of the state and the unity of the people of Japan." This separation from the government came about after some 3.1 million Japanese died in World War II fighting in the name of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa. Masaaki Ito, a professor at Seikei University who has analyzed the recent rise of populism in Japan, said many people who support Sanseito do not necessarily do so because of its ultraconservative views, but they resonate with its push to make the lives of "lower-middle class" people better with aggressive fiscal spending enabled by the issuance of deficit-covering bonds. "Even though those people do so because they agree with where the party stands on economic policy, there is a possibility that they will get aligned" with it over other issues down the road, the professor said.
Japan Today
2 days ago
- Japan Today
Japan's hard-won status as peace promoter tested 80 years after WWII
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba delivers a speech during a memorial service marking the 80th anniversary of Japan's World War II defeat, at the Nippon Budokan hall in Tokyo on Friday. Japan's role as a peace promoter faces increasing challenges in a conflict-prone world, even as Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba reiterated on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II the importance of maintaining "remorse" and the lessons learned from the deadly war. The day commemorating the millions of war dead should have been an opportunity for Ishiba to send out a strong message of peace and raise the alarm about the consequences of resorting to force especially as he sees the security environment as "the most severe" in the postwar period amid China's rise and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. But Ishiba only addressed a memorial ceremony on Friday, opting not to issue an official government statement to mark the 80th anniversary in break with the tradition of prime ministers who released their own on the 50th, 60th, and 70th anniversaries. The decision not to release a statement was largely seen as heeding to conservative members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party, who have been wary to see any remarks from Ishiba that would amount to an apology to countries that suffered under Japan's wartime aggression such as China and South Korea. Regarding the 70th anniversary, then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who pushed for Japan to play a greater security role overseas, stopped short of issuing a fresh apology, although he mentioned that Japan has "repeatedly expressed the feelings of deep remorse" and offered its "heartfelt apology for its actions during the war." Abe, a conservative who sought to realize the first-ever amendment of the Constitution drafted during the U.S. occupation of Japan after World War II, also said that future generations should not "be predestined to apologize." The 2015 statement has led LDP conservatives to argue that it brought an end to Japan's "apology diplomacy" and that another official statement by Ishiba is unnecessary. The anniversary came as Ishiba, a 68-year-old veteran politician known as an Abe critic, has been facing political headwinds following two key national election losses during his tenure, which started less than a year before. Ishiba is still hoping to make public his personal view on the war, one that does not require Cabinet approval, but whether the statement would carry any substantial meaning remains to be seen. Aiko Utsumi, a professor emeritus of Keisen University specializing in historical sociology, said, "I hope to see a statement by the prime minister that reflects his own views on history and sends a message to Asia on Sept. 2," the day when Japan signed the instrument of surrender in 1945. Ishiba has stressed the need for mutual "trust" and "respect" in relations with other Asian nations that suffered Japan's wartime aggression and colonization. This year, Ishiba traveled to Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, which he said allowed him to "revisit" history. On Iwoto Island, the site of a fierce World War II battle between Japan and the United States in the Pacific, he touted the "stronger-than-ever" bilateral security alliance achieved after the war through reconciliation. "We must give thought to their history, be it that of Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia or Indonesia," he said during a recent event to discuss the future of Asia, underscoring the importance of closer ties with other Asian nations in upholding common values such as democracy, human rights and the rule of law. A group of academics had called on Ishiba to issue an official 80th anniversary statement, saying it would serve as "a foundation of Japan's new diplomacy" at a time when the country needs to forge "multifaceted" relationships with countries in the region as U.S. President Donald Trump challenges the existing global order through his "America First" trade and security policies. "We should carefully keep trying to remove the leftovers of prewar Japan that remain in Asian nations. Without such action, it is clear that there will be no true friendship nor cooperation," the Committee of Seven to Appeal for World Peace, founded in 1955 by Nobel Physics prize winner Hideki Yukawa, said in April. To make sure Japan does not repeat the horrors of war, Ishiba vowed on Friday to "hand down across generations the sorrowful memories of the war and our resolute pledge to renounce war." But perceptions of history among the younger generations appear to be shifting, even as many in the public still treasure the pacifism embedded in the Constitution. In a poll by the Japan Association for Public Opinion Research, cited in the Kobe Shimbun daily newspaper earlier this month, the percentage of respondents who thought Japan engaged in "a war of aggression" decreased across all age groups from the 2015 survey, while those aged 29 and under who thought the fighting was "a war for self-defense" more than doubled to 19 percent. Some constitutional experts have expressed concerns over the right-leaning opposition party Sanseito that appears to be broadening its appeal among young people with its "Japanese first" banner. Sanseito, a populist party that rose to prominence through social media, has called for a new Constitution under which the emperor is "sacred." There is also no mention in their proposed Constitution that the sovereignty resides with the people or a guarantee of human rights. The 1947 Constitution, created in response to Japan's wartime aggression, renounces war and bans the possession of military forces and other "war potential" in Article 9. It also defined the emperor as "the symbol of the state and the unity of the people of Japan." This separation from the government came about after some 3.1 million Japanese died in World War II fighting in the name of Emperor Hirohito, posthumously known as Emperor Showa. Masaaki Ito, a professor at Seikei University who has analyzed the recent rise of populism in Japan, said many people who support Sanseito do not necessarily do so because of its ultraconservative views, but they resonate with its push to make the lives of "lower-middle class" people better with aggressive fiscal spending enabled by the issuance of deficit-covering bonds. "Even though those people do so because they agree with where the party stands on economic policy, there is a possibility that they will get aligned" with it over other issues down the road, the professor said. © KYODO
