＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
１．20 Million Yen Shortfall in Retirement Funds Problem
The Financial Services Agency (FSA) has compiled a report stating that “in some cases, 20 million yen is needed as retirement funds in addition to pensions,” and that “asset management is necessary from a young age.
In response to this report, on June 4, Finance Minister Aso stressed the importance of asset formation.
In his inimitable way of speaking, Finance Minister Aso stated, “Have you ever calculated your retirement allowance on the assumption that you will live to 100?
Most people don’t. We have to think about that kind of thing now.”
The report by the Financial Services Agency’s Financial System Council gave the following example: “For the average elderly couple, the monthly deficit in public pensions, etc., will continue to be about 50,000 yen, and in order to live to age 95, they will have a shortfall of 20 million yen over the 30 years after retirement.
２．Relevance of the FSA Report
The contents of the above FSA report have been said in the private sector for some time.
In addition, with the declining birthrate and aging population, pension payments have been curtailed, and many elderly people are aware that they cannot live on their pensions alone.
According to a survey by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, the “savings balance” of elderly households whose head of household is 65 years old or older was 23.94 million yen per household in 2016.
The original estimated figures for the FSA’s “20 million yen shortfall in retirement funds” report mentioned above are the figures from the “Household Income and Expenditure of Elderly Couple Unemployed Households (2017)” in the “Household Income and Expenditure Report” by the Statistics Bureau of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications in 2017. The fact that this MIC report did not cause any problems, but was attacked vigorously by the opposition parties and sensationalized by the media this time, seems to me to have a lot of political agendas.
It is not a fable of the ant and the grasshopper, but I believe that the current assets of the elderly are the result of their frugal lifestyles and preparation for the uncertainties of the future.
In that sense, the FSA report is not that surprising, and I think it is safe to say that most of the elderly are well prepared for the future.
３．Problems with Attacks by Opposition Parties, Media, and Others
The opposition parties, however, were all critical of Finance Minister Aso’s press conference.
Kiyomi Tsujimoto, chairman of the Diet task force committee of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, said, “I must say that the government has abdicated its responsibility. First of all, apologize to the people. I am sorry,” she said.
Renho, also of the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, criticized, “What the people are angry about is that the ‘100-year security’ was a lie.
Economic commentator Kazuyuki Hirano also stated, “Communicating the severity of the pension situation shows the real intention of wanting to delay the starting age for pension benefits to 70 in the short term and 75 in the long term.
There have been repeated comments on TV wide shows that seem to stir up anxiety.
These attacks and criticisms are probably partisan and emotional in nature, rather than dispassionate judgments about the FSA report and the current state of pensions.
４．A Certain Approach to Planning for Future Retirement
In the past, there have been many problems related to pensions. These include the problem of the “Greenpia (pension recreation facility),” which is a waste of pension funds by former bureaucrats of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the problem of missing pensions, and the problem of unpaid pensioners. However, it is too late to start now.
How should we think about planning for our retirement? An interesting article appeared in the recent “Weekly Toyo Keizai” (June 15 issue).
It is an interview with Professor Zenichi Gonjo of Keio University. He says, “The future is WPP.
This is an acronym for W = Work Longer, P = Private Pension (corporate pension, one’s own savings), and P = Public Pension. Using a baseball analogy, the starter is W (work), the reliever is P (corporate pension or savings), and the stopper is P (public pension).
There used to be a Catholic evangelistic program on the radio called “Lights of the Heart” that said, “Instead of complaining that it is dark, let us turn on the lights willingly. I am not a Christian, but I think this is a very good phrase for “encouraging self-help.
I believe that we should not be misled by the opposition parties’ criticisms and the media’s information that stirs up anxiety, but should trim our lives accordingly and build up our assets to prepare for the future.
This is quite natural.
At a press conference on June 11, Finance Minister Aso stated that he would not accept the report in question as an official report because “it has caused significant anxiety and misunderstanding and is at variance with the government’s past policy stance.
The opposition parties are trying to use this as a point of contention in the Upper House election to attack the government’s LDP, and I believe that this is an unavoidable decision to avoid this.
However, it is worrisome that the opposition parties are trying to make this a “political issue,” and that the media is trying to stir up public anxiety and discontent without calmly understanding the contents of the report.