ITO, Makoto (2011), 'Verifying the Basic Income Concept: Its Potency and Extent'

by Yannick Vanderborght | May 18, 2011 | Research

ITO, Makoto (2011), ‘Verifying the Basic Income Concept: Its Potency and Extent’ (‘Basic Income-ron wo kensho-suru: sono kanosei to genkai’), in Sekai [The World], Vol. 814, March 2011, published by Iwanami Shoten.

Due to growing financial deterioration of the government and weakened family ties and company welfarism, “new poverty” (such as an increasing number of “working poor”, single mothers and the elderly with low or no pension, etc., unable to respond to with existing social security schemes) is spreading in Japan. Against this situation, the Basic Income (BI) vision is drawing increasing attention. The interest in it, as for now, stays mainly in the academic circles specializing in social security studies. Though, tomes and answer books on BI have been published one after another. Basic Income Japan Network (BIJN) was launched in April 2010.

The definition of BI by Van Parijs is commonly referred to in Japan, and BI variants including proposals of ones at the supranational level have been brought to the knowledge. The background of the rise of the BI vision in the West consists of the blank wall of social welfare schemes developed during the high economic growth after the World-War 2 and employment policies based on the Keynesianism as well as the disappointment and antipathy to socialism of the Soviet-type. Meanwhile, neo-liberalism aspiring revitalization of individual liberty in free market has swept through the society. Under the circumstance, BI with individual payment, no means test and no work condition aspiring liberation of individuals from bureaucratic control attracts even libertarians. On the other hand, thinkers aiming at revitalization of socialism, feminists, ecologists, and so on support BI combining their own ideal with BI. In Japan, however, being introduced to BI about two decades later from the West, it is conceived as only an alternative to existing social security schemes, and few people discuss it in the aspect of social reformation thinking. Marxists have little contribution to the BI discussions.

As for the feasibility of BI in Japan, Shuji Ozawa first estimated in 2002. He conceived of a BI scheme at the level of 80, 000 JPY per person a month taking the levels of existing money grant schemes into account relying on a new revenue from raised income tax rate at the level of 50 % (maximum rate at that time was 37 %). When it is applied to a standard household with two parents and two children, their net income will decrease by 940 thousand JPY per year. But if the household has one more child, the loss will be almost cancelled. He later redesigned his BI scheme (at the level of 50,000 JPY per person a month) maintaining ongoing tax rate and integrating pension schemes with the BI. In the days ahead, design and discussions of BI schemes are expected. In any case, they may be gradual introduction of partial BI schemes. The newly born administration of the Democratic Party of Japan introduced a child benefit scheme without income test alternating the similar scheme at a far lower level with income test in 2010. The monthly amount per child is 13,000 JPY, a half of the amount the party promised in their manifesto for the lower-house election the party won. In the continuing budgetary distress, however, the administration is now giving up doubling the amount for over four-year-old children and is even bringing back income test. Thus, the partial BI scheme at entry level is still halfway in Japan.

BI can be conveniently used by neo-liberalists to further increase irregular employment, restrain wage and alternate company welfarrism with government expenditures. Therefore, one should not be in an autotelic approach toward BI but in unity with worker/citizen campaigns demanding upraise of wage level, employment security and improvement of public care services, and one should emphasize that BI is to complement public functions of a social-democratic welfare state and promote BI pursuance as part of social movement to realize such state.

Ito Makoto is Emeritus Professor at the University of Tokyo, and a Member of the Japan Academy. The above summary  was written by Takeshi Suzuki.