Subject: Abe pledges to restore trust in pension program Sun 17 Jun - 16:51
Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he will do his utmost to restore public confidence in the nation's pension program.
Referring to the recent pension-record blunder, Mr Abe said at a press conference on Saturday that he is truly sorry as head of the administration, for causing concerns for many people. He said it is his responsibility to resolve this problem and allay these concerns.
Mr Abe said he believes the pension issue will be a focus in the upcoming Upper House election. He said he will appeal to the public for the need to reorganize the Social Insurance Agency, which he thinks has many problems.
In a public address later in the day, Mr Abe said the government is determined to get to the bottom of the pension fiasco and identify where the responsibility lies by looking into records over the past decade.
He said reforming the agency is part of his goal of breaking Japan away from what he calls the post-war regime.