Aso says not to accept Japan FSA report on aging

June 11, 2019

Tokyo--Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday he will not accept as "an official report" a controversial Financial Services Agency report that says an elderly couple needs to amass about 20 million yen in life savings.

The FSA is expected to consider revising the report for resubmission.

The report "significantly worried the public and caused misunderstanding," he told a press conference, adding that it is inconsistent with the government's stance.

The report showed an estimate that an elderly couple living solely on public pensions will post a deficit of 50,000 yen on average per month, for a total of about 20 million yen in 30 years.

Noting that elderly people have various lifestyles, Aso said, "The average figure caused misunderstanding."

The report was drawn up by a subcommittee of an FSA financial council on June 3.

A draft of the report, drawn up last month, referred to the possibility that elderly people would be unable to have a satisfactory standard of living with public pensions alone, drawing criticism on online forums and from opposition parties that the FSA has admitted that the country's public pension system has collapsed.

The government's stance is that public pensions can "support post-retirement lives to some extent," Aso said.

Toshihiro Nikai, secretary-general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said Tuesday that he has lodged a strong protest with the FSA and asked it to withdraw the report.

The report was "not just misleading, but drew concerns," he said. Jiji Press