Ruling Parties Agree To Revise Medical Care For Over-75s 

The Yomiuri Shimbun 

September 24, 2008 

Japan 

The ruling coalition of the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito on Monday agreed on 19 policies to be pursued under a Taro Aso administration, including a review of the unpopular medical care insurance program for people aged 75 and older. 

LDP Secretary General Hiroyuki Hosoda and Policy Research Council Chairman Kosuke Hori met with their respective New Komeito counterparts, Kazuo Kitagawa and Natsuo Yamaguchi, at a hotel in Tokyo to confirm their parties' intention to maintain a coalition. 

The two parties agreed that the medical insurance program for people aged 75 and older should be overhauled by taking into account the opinions of those it covers. The two parties will advance the schedule of the revision--initially set for around 2013--under legislation to reform the government's medical system that was enacted in 2006. 

The two parties also agreed to implement a fixed-amount tax reduction steadily and confirmed they will draw up financial measures to assist small and medium-sized enterprises. 

The ruling parties also said that they would consider providing early childhood education for free for one year. New Komeito has been prodding the LDP to adopt such a policy. 

The two parties will consider cutting the annual salary of Diet members in line with a New Komeito proposal. This was made a priority policy. 
In addition, the two parties agreed to revise the new Antiterrorism Law to allow the Maritime Self-Defense Force to continue its refueling mission in the Indian Ocean and to raise the ratio of public funding for the basic pension by fiscal 2009.  

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