Number of people on welfare tops 2.1 mil.

The number of people receiving welfare benefits topped 2.1 million for the first time as of the end of March, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry announced Wednesday.

The preliminary report figure was up 10,695 from February to 2,108,096, rising for the ninth straight month since July last year, when a 60-year record high was posted.

The number of households receiving livelihood protection benefits under the Public Assistance Law also reached a record of 1,528,381, up 6,897 from the previous month.

While 40 percent of welfare recipient households were elderly, "other households," which includes unemployed people seeking work, accounted for 17 percent, or 260,945 cases. Recipient households are classified into six categories, including single-mother households and single-father households.

Welfare benefits are expected to top 3.7 trillion yen in the current fiscal year, up about 1 trillion yen over the past five years.

As the numbers continue to rise, there has been concern about recipients receiving benefits despite having family members or relatives in a position to support them.

To address this problem, the ministry is considering reforms to the public assistance system, including such measures as confirming whether an applicant's family members can financially help the applicant, and helping recipients who are able to work find jobs, according to the ministry.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/national/T120613004251.htm