By Haruo Akino

Various aspects of the environment surrounding aged people have changed because the number of the aged has increased and that of children has decreased. This imposes a burden on the aged and causes them to have an uneasy life. For example, the increases in nursing insurance and medical expenses are about to be enforced. In addition, the National Pension and life insurance systems have also been modified. Even increasing the consumers tax has been discussed. All the cases are closely related with the aging population and are great alterations. Now, the aged are living with anxiety. If all the changes come into force, it's probable that the aged with a small income will have their backs against the wall. Let's look at the real circumstances.

Nursing insurance will be raised from April. Furthermore, "in-home care" seems to be emphasized. They will raise the cost for in-home care and decrease the cost for facility care. However, is it going to be successful only by the revision of the nursing payments? The real problem is that 230,000 people are on a waiting list to enter a facility.

As for medical expenses, the age of eligibility for medical care for the aged was raised from 70 to 75. The personal share rate of payment and the maximum payment were raised. Before the change, people over 70 normally had to pay 10% of the medical expenses, and they had a discount system. After the change, people over 75 have to pay 10% without any discount and furthermore, people with higher incomes have to pay 20% of the expenses. Does the government expect that when they raised the personal share of the medical care for the aged, the number of people who get medical treatment will decrease? An article in the February 20 morning edition of the Asahi newspaper said that a patient who needs an oxygen enrichment machine for chronic pulmonary emphysema to live a normal life said, "I would rather suffocate than starve to death because I can't eat decent food." Such cases actually happen and he complained with the most elegant words he could think of. Results where people must choose between taking medication they actually need to take and eating will happen more often in the future.

The number of people who get a pension and the number of the years they get it is increasing, but on the other hand, the people who pay into the pension system is decreasing because there are fewer young people. So, the age for getting a pension is raised and the age to start paying into the pension system is lowered. The current elderly generation and the next generation will have to depend on their own savings or personal pensions after retirement if the age of receiving government pensions is raised

The three government parties in power ( Jimin, Komei and Hosyu) tried to change the insurance law to allow companies to bring down the prearranged rate of interest. But the government judged that they couldn't get an agreement from the people by the middle of February. So this issue is postponed until May. But this problem is just postponed―it will not disappear. This law modification where companies can break promised agreements is strange. The tendency toward "Saving companies but killing people" has not stopped.

Increasing the consumers tax is possible. Prime Minister Koizumi declared strongly," I won't increase the consumers tax rate while in office." But the Federation of Economic Organizations insists, "If you raise the rate 1% each year from 2004, the rate will be 16% by 2014. After that, you won't have to raise the rate anymore." This would create great anxiety for the consumers.

You can say that those various modifications are ignoring the welfare of the aged. With the aged at the head of the list, if you continue making more laws to raise the financial burden of people, the difference between the wealthy and the poor will increase more and more. In such a difficult state of affairs, if the people moderate their consumption, the recession may become worse. I understand that as the imbalance in the age difference grows, the people paying into the pension system and those receiving a pension has become unbalanced. But, the government should reconsider those basic policies once again by standing on the side of the people, especially on the side of the weak.