Minimum Income Research in Japan: Its Development and Political Implications

This chapter provides an overview of the current state of reference budget research in Japan. It reviews the first “Minimum Income Standards Japan” (MIS), which was conducted between 2010 and 2013 and detailed all things that are necessary to live in a manner that is minimally acceptable. It also describes how the research initiative and results have influenced the context of the political debate around social security in Japan, which have not resulted in political action to strengthen social protection systems. The chapter analyzes the MIS research that originally formed part of the wider review of social security in Japan, under the centrist Democratic Party. It also points out how the momentum for social security reform was lost after the Democratic Party lost the 2012 election to the current conservative Liberal Democratic Party.