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JTUC-RENGO Vision for Social Security in the 21st Century |
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Basic Philosophy of the Society We Aim for and Its Vision
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Basic Philosophy of Social Security and Its Materialization
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Social security is the foundation and standard of the society that we aim for. We need a clear philosophy to rebuild the Japanese social security system, which now faces a serious crisis. In other words, the basic philosophy for rebuilding our social security system into a system that can bring “security” to all people, instead of the current system that “distributes anxieties” among them, could be summarized into the four key elements described below.
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1. The four basic ideas of social security
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- (1) “Universalism” that covers all citizens
A change from the “selective approach” that targets certain segments of “the weak” to “universalism” that covers all citizens
- (2) A departure from “services under administrative control”
A change from “services under administrative control” to “use by contract” based on “need” and “choice” of service recipients themselves
- (3) “Participation and sharing of responsibilities” by those who shoulder the costs and recipients
A consensus should be reached by those who shoulder the costs and recipients, through a subjective “mutual sharing of participation and obligations” in administering schemes
- (4) “Social solidarity,” meaning mutual assistance among generations and within generations
A system based on “mutual assistance” (social solidarity) among generations and within generations (social collaborative projects)
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2. Institutional reforms in five key areas that give concrete form to the basic philosophy
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(1) Change in resources allocation = through fiscal structural reform, the emphasis of resources allocation should be shifted away from public works and toward welfare and social security.
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(2) Re-definition of public administration functions = public administration carries out public services as an entity mandated by citizens to manage and administer welfare and social security schemes.
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(3) Social consensus = a consensus needs to be reached on the cost burden and level of benefits provided, as well as re-distribution mechanisms, from the viewpoint of the “provision of security.”
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(4) Promotion of decentralization of authority = the uniqueness of communities should be assured in terms of the participation of citizens and users, as well as the provision of welfare services.
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(5) Radical reinforcement of measures to support the nurturing of future generations and child-raising = as the child-raising function of families and local communities declines, benefits related to child-care and family-support schemes should be expanded to promote social support for child-raising.
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