Editor’s note: The Asahi Shimbun has established new election coverage guidelines and set up a section for fact checking, including information posted on social media, during campaigns. The newspaper conducts fact checks to determine the veracity of comments made by politicians and social media posts in which the truth may be difficult to immediately confirm.

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Polarizing information has been circulating on the internet and elsewhere during the July 20 Upper House campaign that accuses foreign nationals of receiving preferential treatment over Japanese nationals for welfare benefits. 

As an example, in a video posted on an anonymous X account on June 23, a personality was “furious” and claimed that “foreigners are given preferential treatment in welfare” as the reason.

The post had been viewed more than 2.85 million times by July 15.

In Upper House election campaigning, some political parties and candidates have voiced similar concerns. The minor opposition Sanseito party, in particular, has stated in its policy that it will suspend welfare payments to foreigners.

To rebut such rumors, welfare minister Takamaro Fukuoka denied that the government was providing favorable treatment to foreign residents in medical or welfare benefits at a news conference on July 15.

The welfare ministry’s division that is in charge of welfare administration told The Asahi Shimbun that there is no preferential treatment under the system.

For foreign nationals living in Japan to receive welfare benefits, their assets and level of need are investigated in the same manner as Japanese nationals.

Some foreign nationals may not be eligible to receive welfare depending on their residence status. 

NUMBERS SHOW MINOR DISCREPANCY 

As part of a fact-checking exercise, The Asahi Shimbun examined how many households are actually on welfare.

Using the results of the 2020 census, it calculated the percentage of households receiving benefits by nationality of the head of household.

As a result, of the 54.35 million households headed by a Japanese national, 1.57 million households, or 2.89 percent, were receiving welfare benefits.

Of the 1.36 million households headed by a foreign national, 46,000 households, or 3.36 percent, were being given welfare assistance.

By nationality of the head of household, there were 29,000 households headed by a South Korean or North Korean national on welfare. The figure accounted for 14.43 percent of the total number of households headed by a South Korean or North Korean national. 

There were 5,700 households headed by a Chinese national on the welfare rolls. The figure accounted for 1.62 percent of the total number of households headed by a Chinese national.

There were 5,100 recipient households headed by a Filipino, accounting for 5.41 percent of the total number of households headed by that nationality. There were 1,700 households headed by Brazilians receiving welfare assistance, which accounted for 2.17 percent of the total number of households headed by that nationality.

Of all households receiving welfare benefits, including those whose head of household is Japanese, elderly households accounted for 56 percent.

However, when looking at households headed by a South Korean or North Korean national, the percentage was even higher, numbering 68 percent.

Among all households receiving welfare assistance, including households headed by a Japanese national, 4.43 percent were single-mother households.

However, among households headed by Filipino nationals, the percentage was significantly higher, at 48.41 percent.

Atsushi Yoshinaga, a professor at Hanazono University who is an expert on welfare administration, said, “The high percentage of elderly households headed by South Korean and North Korean residents in Japan receiving welfare benefits is due to the fact that for a long time in Japan, foreign nationals have been systematically excluded from joining the national pension system, resulting in a large number of people with low pensions.”

He also said, “Many Filipinos are impoverished women who have divorced their Japanese spouses and have children.”

“In both cases, there are historical reasons and it makes sense to allow them to continue receiving social welfare,” he said.

MINISTRY CONDUCTS INVESTIGATION

The Public Assistance Law stipulates that all citizens in need who are Japanese nationals are eligible to receive welfare.

In the case of foreign nationals, in consideration of fairness to Japanese nationals, eligibility is limited to permanent residents who can work freely in Japan, spouses of Japanese nationals, other permanent residents including third-generation overseas immigrants of Japanese descent, special permanent residents such as Korean residents in Japan, and people who have been certified as refugees.

Those who are in Japan on visas that restrict their employment, such as student visas, technical intern visas and specified skilled worker visas, are not eligible.

Welfare benefits are doled out on a household basis.

According to the ministry, the screening process for eligibility is conducted based on the same criteria, regardless of the nationality of the head of the household.

Applicants are investigated to determine if they are able to work and if they have any assets. If there are assets, they must be converted into cash and used for living expenses.

In the case of foreign nationals, to prevent them from entering Japan just for receiving welfare assistance, the circumstances that led to their impoverishment along with information about the guarantor they provided when they obtained their visa will be subject to investigation.