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Tokyo (Jiji Press) — Hiroshi Moriyama, secretary-general of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, called for boosting the incomes of young people in a television debate with other parties Sunday.
“It’s important to increase the incomes of young people and families with children,” Moriyama said in the debate program of public broadcaster Japan Broadcasting Corp., or NHK.
Meanwhile, Junya Ogawa, secretary-general of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said, “The pillars should be public policies, including the conversion of nonregular workers into regular employees and further rises in the minimum wages.”
The program brought together senior officials of ruling and opposition parties ahead of the Oct. 27 election of the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament. They mainly discussed measures to address the country’s unrelenting decrease in births and support young people.
Moriyama stressed the significance of supporting all households with children seamlessly based on their life stages. Ogawa advocated for free education and reducing financial burdens on households in the areas of medical and elderly care.
Makoto Nishida, secretary-general of Komeito, the LDP’s coalition partner, pledged efforts to realize wage hikes so that the working generation can enjoy higher incomes. He also discussed a need to eliminate the so-called annual income walls, which refer to income levels at which tax and social security premium burdens increase, leading to lower take-home pay.
Among other opposition party members, Fumitake Fujita, secretary-general of Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party), proposed cutting the regular consumption tax rate to 8 pct from 10 pct to scrap the current dual tax rate system, which applies the lower rate of 8 pct to a handful of items including food and nonalcoholic drinks.
While calling for the tax change to boost consumption, he also highlighted the necessity of structural reforms in the medical and elderly care sectors to cut social insurance premiums.
Democratic Party for the People Secretary-General Kazuya Shinba proposed free education, while Japanese Communist Party top secretary Akira Koike demanded a halt to the country’s defense spending boost so that fiscal resources for supporting child-rearing households can be secured.
Reiwa Shinsengumi’s Takashi Takai proposed measures to shore up the incomes of young people and families with children, Sanseito leader Sohei Kamiya sought an improvement in the quality of education, and the Social Democratic Party’s Yuko Otsubaki called for employment stability.
Also in the program, the LDP’s Moriyama hinted at expanding the framework of the coalition government to increase its members after the election
“Regardless of whether the LDP and Komeito fall short of a majority, we should positively engage in discussions with parties that aim to promote the country’s further development with the same policies as ours,” he said, although he denied he has any particular party in mind.
