FROM THE EDITOR (SHIRAISHI Takashi)

CHRONOLOGY (July – August 2008)

SOCIAL SECURITY IN AN AGING JAPAN (NARIAI Osamu)

Too Generous to Seniors (HARADA Yutaka)

Senior citizens have for decades been getting special breaks under Japan’s public health insurance system, imposing a growing burden on others. They also enjoy the world’s most generous pension system, with benefits higher than the levels in countries like the United States and Sweden. Meanwhile, many seniors have incomes and assets greater than working-age people. Benefits should be provided on the basis of need, not age. (Chûô Kôron, August 2008)

What’s Wrong with the New System of Elderly Medical Care? (KAWABUCHI Kôichi)

A new system of medical care coverage for those aged 75 or over was introduced this April, but it has proved highly unpopular. Though it is the product of many years of deliberation, the system is flawed in its design, and it may provoke intergenerational strife. It would probably be better to combine the system of medical care for the elderly with the system providing nursing and other nonmedical care. (Chûô Kôron, July 2008)

Diversification Leaves Many Seniors Shortchanged (YAMADA Masahiro)

Senior citizens are leading increasingly diverse lifestyles. Many are well off, but many others are struggling, and an increasing number of them are now supporting unmarried adult children unable to find regular jobs. The pension system and other government programs are built on the premise that households will fall into narrowly defined model categories, but the share of those that do not conform to these models is rising. The gaping hole in the social safety net must be closed. (Chûô Kôron, August 2008)

The Graying of the Asian Economy (KOMINE Takao)

The idea of Asia as an engine of global economic growth has become commonplace. But a shift in the economic environment is in the offing as Asia’s population ages, auguring slower growth and years of trial. How to cope with an aging society is a problem facing not only Japan but Asia as a whole. (Ekonomisuto, July 15, 2008)

STEPPING DOWN TO SAVE THE LDP? (TAKENAKA Harukata)

The Amorphous Structure of Political Power (KAKIZAKI Meiji)

The demise of the LDP’s factions has ended the old structure of political power, and though Prime Minister Koizumi was able to exercise power effectively, his successors have failed to do so. Both Abe and Fukuda won easy victories in their campaigns for the presidency of the Liberal Democratic Party, but they made ill-advised choices for the crucial posts of chief cabinet secretary and LDP secretary general. The Fukuda administration in particular seems to have no identifiable power structure. (Sekai, July 2008)

Probing the Policies of the Two Top Parties (YOSANO Kaoru, MAEHARA Seiji, TAHARA Sôichirô)

Tahara, a prominent political commentator, interviews a pair of senior figures from the LDP and opposition Democratic Party of Japan. The LDP’s Yosano complains that the DPJ has caused legislative gridlock. Maehara cites some progress on key legislation, but concedes his party needs to be more willing to engage in policy debate. The two agree that the consumption tax will need to be hiked and that the public sector must be streamlined, and they call for government action to counter the decline of the Japanese economy. (Chûô Kôron, July 2008)

HEREDITARY POLITICS

In Their Fathers’ Footsteps (SAKAIYA Taichi)

Many members of Japan’s National Diet are the children or grandchildren of former legislators. It is now considered quite normal for prime ministers and cabinet members to emerge from this pool of hereditary lawmakers. This is actually a relatively recent phenomenon, having emerged since the 1980s. In the world of business, by contrast, the number of hereditary executives has been declining, and few children of “salarymen” take jobs at their father’s workplaces. (Gendai, August 2008)

THE ECONOMY

Global Change and Japanese Reform (KOJIMA Akira)

DIPLOMACY

Can the World Coexist with China? (OKAMOTO Yukio, TANAKA Akihiko)

The closed China of the past has been shifting to a more open type of society, but it still has an antiquated conception of how to pursue its interests internationally. Japan alone cannot productively protest China’s improper behavior; it would be wiser to engage China by encouraging its involvement in international decision-making organs. Japan should consider playing a leading role in getting approval for China’s membership in the Group of Eight. (Chûô Kôron, August 2008)

TECHNOLOGY

Excavating the Treasures of the Urban Mine (YOSHIKAWA Hirokazu)

In a major metropolis like Tokyo, vast numbers of high-tech devices are discarded every day, and the valuable metals we can recover from such equipment have a much higher degree of purity than even the purest ores. By “excavating” and recycling such metals, we can augment the supply of these crucial materials and contribute to the important environmental task of waste management. Japan is a world leader in metal recycling technology and can help other countries deal with their hard-to-manage wastes. (Voice, July, 2008)

WAR RESPONSIBILITY

After the Manchurian Incident (Yomiuri Shimbun War Responsibility Reexamination Committee)

Chapter 3 of the book From Marco Polo Bridge to Pearl Harbor: Who Was Responsible (The Yomiuri Shimbun, 2006). Based on a series of articles in the daily Yomiuri Shimbun, this book examines the responsibility for Japan’s taking the path to war first with China and then with the United States.