In a lawsuit in which a recipient in Mie Prefecture complained that the gradual reduction in welfare benefits starting in 2013 violated the constitution, which guarantees a minimum standard of living, the Tsu District Court ruled that the government's response was illegal. Therefore, the court issued a judgment revoking the reduction.
The government lowered the standard amount for living expenses such as food and utility costs by up to 10% from 2013 to 2015 to reflect the decline in prices.
Regarding this, 17 recipients from Tsu City, Yokkaichi City, Kuwana City, and Matsusaka City in Mie Prefecture are calling for the cancellation of the reduction made by the local government, claiming that it ``violates the constitution that guarantees a minimum standard of living.''
In the ruling on the 22nd, Tsu District Court Chief Judge Hiroshi Takeuchi said, ``The reason why the Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare hastily revised the deflation adjustment, despite extremely insufficient consideration based on expert knowledge, was due to the public's sense of unfairness.'' "We can only see this as an attempt to implement a political policy of lowering standards, even if it goes against expert knowledge. It must be said that there was a lack of procedure, and it is illegal." I handed down a judgment to revoke it.
According to the plaintiff's lawyers, there have been 26 first instance judgments in similar class action lawsuits across the country, including this one, and this is the 15th time the reduction has been revoked.
Tsu City man: ``I'm glad I finally heard the verdict.''
After the verdict, the plaintiff's legal team held a press conference, and the head of the legal team, Toshio Ishizaka, said, ``Almost all of the arguments were accepted, so it's a happy and meaningful verdict.I feel that the judiciary in this country is functioning well.'' ” he said.
The plaintiff, a man in his 70s from Tsu City, said, ``My life has been really difficult for about eight years.I'm glad I finally heard the verdict.''
A woman in her 70s from Matsusaka City also said, ``My life was difficult.I wondered why I had to suffer, but I was relieved by today's ruling.''