Kyugohoh (the old public relief law) was abolished, and a completely new public assistance law (Livelihood Protect ion Law) was enacted in accordance with the modern social welfare philosophy, though it did not recognize the legal right of people to ask for the provision of public assistance. Five years later, in 1950, the old Livelihood Protection Law was abolished, and the new Livelihood Protection Law was enacted. This is the present Japanese public assistance law, which recognizes the legal right of people to ask for the provision of assistance, and the right of appeal to upper administrative office and also to the court, when the applicant thinks that the decision of the local Welfare Office is not adequate in light of his/her needs. Owing to this law, the living conditions of poor older persons were significantly improved. One of the most significant effects of the new law was that older beggars who had been so commonly seen almost everywhere in the prewar days almost disappeared.
In addition to the public assistance law, two important laws were stipulated between 1945 and 1950. The first was the Child Welfare Law of 1947 and the Law for the Welfare of Handicapped Persons of 1949.
Another important step for the construction of the Welfare State was establishment of public pension programs to secure minimum income after retirement. Actually the first step in this direction, though very limited in its scope, was taken in 1941, before the end of the Second World War, in the form of a law for the establishment of public pension insurance for persons employed in mining, manufacturing, and other important firms. Three years later in 1944, one year before the end of the Second World War, this Law was revised so as to expand its coverage. The main goal of the 1941 and 1944 laws was to raise the morale of the employees of key industries, and thereby contribute to the national effort to win a victory in the War. It is to be noted, however, that this law also aimed at collecting money in the form of insurance contributions to finance the huge military expenses needed to continue the war. Whatever its goals may have been, the 1941 Law was the predecessor of the present National Retirement Pension Insurance Program for the Employees of Private Firms (Kosei Nenkin Hoken). Almost a decade after the end of the Second World War in 1954, the 1944 Law was revised so as to cover almost all employees working for private enterprises, including those which have only a very small number of employees.
