Never to use controversial FSA report for policy management: Aso

June 15, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Friday he will never use the controversial Financial Services Agency report as a reference material for policy steering.

Aso refused to accept the report suggesting that an average married couple needs 20 million yen in own funds in addition to national pension benefits to cover living expenses for 30 years after retirement.

At a House of Representatives Financial Affairs Committee meeting, Aso stressed that he "had not heard" of the 20-million-yen shortage estimate from FSA officials beforehand.

The meeting was held amid the opposition camp stepping up criticism against the government pension policy, saying the report admitted the collapse of the national pension scheme.

Grilling Aso, also deputy prime minister, for his refusal to accept the report, Hiroshi Ogushi, a member of the Lower House committee from the major opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said that ministers are not entitled to turn down reports submitted by advisory bodies.

Aso rebutted by saying that there are "no rules" obliging him to accept or respect any report.

He also said that he rejected the report without advance consultations with labor minister Takumi Nemoto, in charge of the national pension, and the prime minister's side because he found it misleading to present the pension deficit figure by simply comparing household incomes and expenditures.

Ogushi alleged that Aso attempted to cover up the estimate in view of growing public criticism against the national pension policy ahead of the House of Councillors election in summer.

"Absolutely not," Aso harshly responded.

Many opposition lawmakers argued that if cabinet ministers accept only reports they like, the practice would force members of government advisory bodies to concentrate on the "sontaku" surmising of wishes of the ministers in writing reports.

Aso denied the view, noting that he made the action in order to eliminate the misunderstanding and fears that the public pension cannot be counted on as a main income source in post-retirement life.

"I don't think at all that this (his action) will prompt sontaku to prevail," he said.

The report, compiled by a working group of the FSA's Financial System Council earlier this month, underscored the importance of long-term asset utilization to prepare for post-retirement life while citing the pension shortfall estimate. Jiji Press