Social security benefits hit record 114 trillion yen

August 3, 2017

TOKYO- Social security benefits paid out in Japan in fiscal 2015 grew 2.4 percent from the preceding year to a record 114,859.6 billion yen, a welfare ministry-affiliated think tank said Tuesday.

Medical expenditures and pension benefits increased in the year to March 2016 as Japanese society grew older, the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research said.

The amount of per-capita benefits also rose, by 2.5 percent to 903,700 yen.

Social security benefits include pensions and spending for medical, elderly nursing-care and other services, with self-pay portions excluded. They are mainly financed by tax revenues and social security insurance premiums.

Social security benefits have been on the rise since the statistics started in 1950. How to curb the growth amid expectations for further aging of society in the nation is a major challenge facing the Japanese government.

Of the fiscal 2015 total, spending for medical services came to 37,710.7 billion yen, up 3.8 percent, posting the largest growth among all segments.

The total number of hospital visits increased as those seeking medical help have grown older. Prescription costs also went up because new drugs were covered by public health insurance programs.

Spending for welfare and other services, including child care and nursing care for elderly people, rose 3.3 percent to 22,202.4 billion yen, reflecting increased expenditures for nurseries following the introduction of a new child-rearing support program in fiscal 2015.

Spending for nursing care services alone stood at 9,404.9 billion yen, up 2.3 percent. The growth was the slowest on record as government-set fees paid to care facilities were reduced in the year. Jiji Press