Japan’s Cabinet endorsed new guidelines aimed at addressing the nation’s aging society on Friday.
The guidelines say Japanese society is aging at an unprecedented speed, and they stress that it is important to take steps to try to create a sustainable society.
Currently, people aged 75 and older must pay 30 percent of their medical expenses, only if their incomes are comparable to those of people who are still in the workforce. The guidelines say discussions aimed at expanding the number of people in that age group paying that percentage will be held.
The guidelines also call for a neutral pension system to be created, one that can deal flexibly with diverse working styles.
The guidelines say it is necessary to create an environment in which the elderly can work, if they want to. They call for improvements in programs aimed at reskilling workers and support for companies that raise the age of retirement. They aim to increase the percentage of people in their 60s who have jobs by five percent, compared to the current level, in five years.
Before the Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said he wanted all the necessary steps to be taken, so that people of all generations can feel hopeful about their futures as members of a “super aging society.”