Health ministry reviews pension system

This will soon be frittered away , trickled into pockets, lost making stupid investments and paid to cronies.

This system has already failed. They are paying out more than is being paid in and as the population ages this trend will continue. All Japanese people are very nervous about ever receiving a pension, especially the young. The reason they want to change the investment strategy is a hope to increase the fund through investments. They are effectively gambling with the money. This is also why they have become so strict on receiving pension payments from non-nationals, who will only receive 60% of their funds back and can only apply one year after leaving Japan and sadly, because of the difficulties in getting the funds back many do not bother.

Well... for myself... I am not counting to get any money from the government when I am retired. That does not mean that I have some secure cash to sustain myself when old... just that my mind is set that.... the money given to any government (at least most of them) is money lost.

It is a Ponzi scheme branded by the government... it will fail with the population decrease.

All of these govt pension plans are Ponzi scams always have been and are not sustainable. Name one govt that has one that earns more than it pays out , Do not rely on any govt to support you in old age, its up to you to provide and make arrangements to cover yourself. Gone are the days of eternal support form govts

It's worse than a Ponzi scheme; It's a slave system on work-release. "Taro" pays in one month's salary per year for 40(or maybe soon 50) years on the promise of possibly recieving a below-poverty level stipend for a dozen years at the end. It's a sucker deal forced on everyone. In nominal terms it may appear feasible except the paid out money is greatly devalued.

The mathematical model is broken and at this point it's just damage control to the destiny of a slow decline for pensioners. But it not just Japan, many g8 countries have this problem

"The mathematical model is broken..."

It's not a question of math. It's a question of whether Japan can meet its yen-denominated obligations. The answer to that is "yes." In simple terms: Japan pays yen to pensioners. Japan is the only authority able to issue yen. So...what's stopping Japan from meeting those obligations? Answer: nothing.

"It is a Ponzi scheme branded by the government"

Ponzi, like Madoff, were private sector investment managers, not governments. Governments in the developed world have a far better track record of meeting their financial obligations than does the private sector.