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The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare this week announced plans to reform the unemployment benefits system for job seekers.
Under the current system, if welfare recipients work and earn income, the benefits they receive are reduced by the amount they earn. Critics have long held that this disincentivizes leaving the welfare system, because recipients earn exactly the same amount whether they work or not.
Welfare minister Norihisa Tamura said that under the revised system, benefits will still be accrued while earning but withheld from the job seeker until he or she leaves welfare system, at which point they are given as a lump sum, Sankei Shimbun reported Thursday.
© Japan Today
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basroil
They discussed this a bunch last night, main issue being that working minimum wage full time is less effective than working part time and getting welfare. And once the sales tax hits 10%, most minimum wage earners won't even be making living wages anymore, making any minimum wage work pointless except as an added benefit.
Knox Harrington
What is the minimum wage here anyway? ¥780? It's ridiculously low, If I remember correctly...
Knox Harrington
What is the minimum wage here anyway? ¥780? It's ridiculously low, If I remember correctly.
Onniyama
Knox. Yes. The min wage in Japan is ridiculously low. How can anyone make a living on that?
basroil
OnniyamaJan. 17, 2013 - 03:06PM JST
It's still about twice the minimum wage of the USA, so it's not that low. The issue is a massive rent bubble caused by collusion and high cost of basic necessities like transportation, gas, and electricity. Food prices aren't bad, and basic communication costs are also low.
Robert Dykes
Min wage is low. But also realize many people live under one roof. Many salary men may wear nice suits and carry and expensive brief case but its often because mommy and daddy bought it for him. Most salary men make very little their first decade in the job.
trinklets2
People receiving unemployment benefits are still entitled to it if they work for up to 20hrs per week. They only forfeit the chance to receive it if they work more than 20. that is my understanding. But then most recepients lie and some even work for 8-10 hrs and still get the full benefit. The law would somehow keep them from beating the bushes. The question is why withhold the amount until the end of the benefit period?