Considering the nature of social security based on evidence.

Keywords: social security, pensions, healthcare, welfare, poverty

The social security system is a mechanism that prevents our lives from falling into difficulty through various benefits. At the same time, it plays a role in correcting disparities through income redistribution and in stabilizing society and the economy by supporting consumption to mitigate economic fluctuations. However, amidst serious issues such as the widening and entrenchment of disparities, the progression of an aging population with low birth rates, and worsening fiscal conditions, the social security system is being called into question. My main research themes, in light of this situation, are: (1) quantitatively measuring disparities and poverty in Japan (2) creating evidence (scientific basis) to consider the structure of the social security system. For the former, I am advancing the understanding of the realities of poverty using a poverty indicator called the "deprivation index," which directly measures people's living conditions from the perspective of the availability of goods and services, as it is difficult to grasp the realities of poverty using income-based indicators alone. For the latter, in addition to conducting research on individual areas such as pensions and medical care and nursing, I am focusing on those who have "fallen through the cracks" of Japan's social security system, which is based on universal health insurance and pensions, and working to understand their actual circumstances.

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