How does Japan's pension system work?

Is the system government run? How do organizations like the National Pension Fund Association come into play? Are they private groups or government subsidiaries? The NPFA has 29 million workers who pay into it; is that the only pension they pay for or is there another government pension they get as well?

Thanks very much!

The public pension system in Japan is two-tiered. First, a basic flat rate provides pensioners with 66,200 yen (approximately U.S. $600) monthly. Second, an earnings-related benefit provides pensioners 28.5 percent of their career average income in real earnings. The replacement rate for a one earner couple is 60 percent of their net earnings, roughly 223,000 yen (or U.S. $2,100). Pension benefits are CPI indexed. The normal age at which individuals receive pensions is 65 years old.

The Japanese pension system is primarily pay-as-you-go with partial prefunding. The pension system is funded by employee contributions and government subsidies. Employees (and their employers combined) contribute 13.58 percent of their annual wages. Government subsidies pay for approximately one-third of basic flat rate benefits.

The aggregate amount of social security pension benefits is currently 44 trillion yen (approximately U.S. $400 billion). This sum amounts to 9 percent of the Japanese GDP, an even larger percentage than domestic output of the automobile industry, and the figure is rapidly increasing.