"Hello, this is Shinzo Abe" -- Message from the Prime Minister
(Provisional Translation)

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Taking All Necessary Action

Hello, this is Shinzo Abe.

Last week, the Diet approved a 12-day extension of the current session. This extension is intended to ensure that three bills -- the bill for abolishing the statute of limitation on pensions, the Social Insurance Agency reform bill and the bill for reforming the civil servant system -- will pass without fail.

On the problems surrounding the nation's pension records, I have promised that the Government's checks will continue until the very last record has been verified and that we will ensure that everyone receives their full pension. Although it may take us some time, the Government is now doing everything in its power to fulfill this commitment.

Under the current system, pensioners' entitlement to receive unpaid pension payments becomes void after the limitation of five years has expired, at which time they become ineligible to receive back payments.

Insofar as government mismanagement is at the root of the recordkeeping problems, I will ensure that no one is denied payment due to the expiration of the statute of limitation. The bill for abolishing the statute of limitation is precisely for this purpose.

Some are opposed to this bill, and some are advocating for its postponement. Does that mean it is acceptable to extinguish, on the basis of the limitation, the provision of pension payments owed to people who made all their pension contributions dutifully and with all sincerity? I see no basis for such a claim.

Furthermore, it is clear that behind the current situation are problems with the organizational culture of the Social Insurance Agency, as well as with the attitude of its staff. Unless we dismantle the operations of the Agency and all the staff resign now, we will not be able to stamp out the Agency's long-entrenched disease.

The Government's Social Insurance Agency reform bill is designed for both the organization and its employees to start over from scratch.

A counterproposal to this bill suggests that consolidation of the Social Insurance Agency with another organization would be sufficient, without regard to the inherent problems of the organization and its people. That, however, amounts to no more than changing the facade, and will not resolve the problems whatsoever.

In last week's e-mail magazine, I shared with you my ideas on the bill for reforming the civil servant system. Here again, the voice of the people is resolute: we must promote restructuring in the public sector, and at the same time root out the problem of retired civil servants landing executive positions in the private sector.

I hear voices opposing the bill that say all civil servants should be allowed to retain their positions until they reach retirement age. Such a proposal would lead to the bloating of the public sector, and is therefore a case of misplaced priorities.

It is the duty of those in politics to respond to the anger of the people -- their anger at the pension record problems and their anger at the series of collusive bidding scandals involving public offices.

We will surely never realize responsible politics if we postpone reaching conclusions on these matters out of concern for the immediately upcoming elections.

The Abe Cabinet's approach is to take all the actions that need to be taken for the people, ceaselessly and in a simple and honest fashion. Whatever criticisms might come my way, I am fully determined to pass these three bills during the current session of the Diet.

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