Nippon Ishin Vows to Boost Take-Home Pay

   Tokyo, June 30 (Jiji Press)--Japanese opposition Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Innovation Party) said Monday that it will focus on social security reform to boost household income in its campaign for the July 20 election for the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.
   In its campaign platform, the party promised to cut the country's annual medical expenses by over 4 trillion yen to lower social insurance premiums for working generations by 60,000 yen per person annually. It blamed social insurance burdens on sluggish take-home pay.
   To reduce medical expenses, the party proposed excluding insurance coverage for prescribed drugs with ingredients similar to those of over-the-counter drugs, reducing unnecessary hospital beds by 110,000 and raising out-of-pocket medical expenses for the elderly to 30 pct in principle.
   The party also calls for the establishment of a system to guarantee minimum pension benefits.
   It also proposed establishing a second capital of the country, apparently in Osaka, its home turf, to take over some functions from the current capital, Tokyo.

(2025/06/30-21:48)

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