Photo/Illutration Executives of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and junior coalition partner Komeito head for a meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 15. (Koichi Ueda)

The ruling coalition is considering providing a lump sum payment to senior citizens and others receiving pensions to help tide them over during the pandemic.

But the figure being floated, 5,000 yen ($42), is unlikely to put smiles on many faces. In fact, many people might regard the amount as insulting.

One lawmaker asked whether the elderly would really appreciate receiving such a measly sum.

The proposed step would cover an estimated 26 million people.

Officials of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party were not hiding the fact that the measure was being viewed as a vote-getter as it is being timed to be distributed ahead of this summer’s Upper House election.

Various economic support measures have been implemented over the past two years to help those battered by the impact of the public health crisis.

“But we have done nothing (to date) for households receiving pensions,” noted one high-ranking LDP executive.

“The ruling coalition will face a very difficult election if people are complaining about the bad economy and how it is hurting household spending,” said Hiroshige Seko, the secretary-general of the LDP Upper House caucus, during a March 15 news conference.

Surging prices of fuel and essential goods are of particular concern.

The prospect of the economy deteriorating further could hurt the ruling coalition before the summer election, raising the possibility of more spending measures being proposed once the budget for fiscal 2022 passes the Diet.

The secretaries-general for the LDP and junior coalition partner Komeito met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on March 15 to ask about the support measure for those of pensionable age.

The proposal was aired because the government has already decided to decrease monthly pension amounts by 0.4 percent for the fiscal year to start in April. The reduction is linked to a decrease in wages of the working population who pay premiums into the pension system. Those funds in turn are distributed to those eligible to receive state assistance.

The 5,000-yen special payout will not be given to those who received a onetime payment of 100,000 yen. The measure covered households that do not pay local resident taxes because their incomes are so low.

In explaining the rationale for the latest step, ruling coalition officials pointed out that those working will likely see their incomes rising if the economy turns around, but pensioners face no immediate prospect of any increase in the amount they receive.

The reserve fund for the current fiscal year will be used to pay for the disbursement.

(Takashi Narazaki and Suguru Takizawa contributed to this article.)

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