August 20, 2021

The Japan Pensioners’ Union (JPU) made to the International Labor Organization (ILO) a representation demanding the issuance of an ILO recommendation and a direct request to the Japanese government in regard to unilateral cuts in public pension benefits which constitute a violation of the ILO Convention 102, known as the social security minimum standards convention. Akahata learned this on August 19.

Furthermore, the JPU, which is affiliated with the National Confederation of Trade Unions (Zenroren), plans to appeal to the UN committees on social rights and on the elimination of discrimination against women for an examination of the Japanese government’s imposition of lower pension payouts on the elderly.

In the document presented to the ILO, the JPU points out that the level of Japan’s public pension falls below the ILO minimum norm under convention 102 stipulating that the level of old-age pension should not be less than 40% of wages in the country. The union reported that due to insufficient pensions, many elderly people are forced to struggle to survive by such means as reducing daily meals and doctor visits. The union added that in Japan, the gender wage gap is a major factor behind very low pension benefits for women and that these women need to work as low-paid non-regular workers even when they are over 80.

JPU Secretary General Hirooka Motoho said, “We’ll use the representation to the ILO as leverage to increase public support for our demand for improving Japan’s social welfare services which lags behind international standards.”