Gov't to review U.S. military-related expenses, foreign aid

Tuesday 10th November, 06:00 AM JST

TOKYO —

The government decided Monday to review state expenses related to U.S. forces in Japan, official development assistance, and some other outlays earmarked for a fiscal 2010 state budget as part of its efforts to curtail wasteful use of taxpayers’ money.

By reviewing some of the public works projects in the fiscal 2010 budget, the government of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will aim to trim the size of the budget by 3 trillion yen or more from record-high budgetary requests exceeding 95 trillion yen.

A list of the projects subject to the revision was unveiled following a meeting Monday of the Government Revitalization Unit, a new body set up by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government seeking to cut back on unnecessary public works projects and economic measures to rein in wasteful spending.

‘‘We will review them and leave no protected areas,’’ Hatoyama, who heads the unit, told the meeting, which other cabinet members such as Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii and Naoto Kan, in charge of national strategy, also attended.

Calling the review ‘‘a highlight of the new administration,’’ Hatoyama told reporters prior to the meeting, ‘‘The work is to determine if each of the projects is truly necessary, can be passed on to the following year, or should be handled by the private sector. I think it is quite a new attempt.’‘

Among other expenses to be reviewed are health care expenses, local allocation taxes, and expenses for compulsory education.

Yoshito Sengoku, minister in charge of administrative reform and deputy chief of the unit, told the meeting that the review would also help shed light on the problems of the organizations overseeing the projects and the systems behind them.

Specifically, members of the unit and government officials will sort out, starting on Wednesday, the projects into four categories—‘‘unnecessary,’’ ‘‘should be transferred to local municipalities,’’ ‘‘should be improved’’ and ‘‘should be continued.’‘

As for U.S. military-related expenses, the government will reexamine wages for Japanese employees working at U.S. bases in Japan.

Hatoyama said to reporters that the review must be done without affecting the Japan-U.S. relationship, which appears to be fraying amid a row over where to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps’ Futemma Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture.

Under the agreements with Washington, Tokyo covers part of the expenses for U.S. troops staying in Japan, such as construction of their residences and utility costs, and pays the salaries of employees working at U.S. bases in Japan in the name of host nation support.

The unit is seeking to complete the review by late November, but Hideki Kato, the unit’s secretariat head, indicated a view at a press conference Monday that the work may be pushed back until early next month.

The government is aiming to complete formulating the budget for the new fiscal year from April 2010 by the end of this year based on the results of the unit. It has been behind compared with usual years due to the recent change of government.

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Latest 15 of 22 Total Comments Show All

McC72 at 12:32 PM JST - 10th November

newjapanese, welcome to JT. It seems your a bit new on this board. I've read some of your post here today(about the guy on the run etc and in all instances your stance is easily rebuked. How about slowing down and looking at the historical facts before making such posts.
Weasel at 01:37 PM JST - 10th November

it has the 2nd most advance military in the world already

Yet still hankering to the US and Lockheed Martin to let them purchase F-22's for some odd reason.
tkoind2 at 01:45 PM JST - 10th November

Weasel. Because they can't afford to develop their own. The few jets Japan does develop would not survive in a modern war against China or Russia. R&D is expensive and F-22's only come into existence after years of very expensive development. It is far cheaper to buy someone elses geat aircraft than to develop your own.

One more reason Japan will not do away with US military protection.
newjapanese at 01:46 PM JST - 10th November

Yet still hankering to the US and Lockheed Martin to let them purchase F-22's for some odd reason.

WRONG! Japan is making its own with the help of the French ..The US are interested in buy the Japanese Aircraft!
captainjohann at 01:55 PM JST - 10th November

Japan can kick out of America but then it has to change its pacific constitution. Japanese must watch the 60 anniversary celebrations of China
newjapanese at 01:58 PM JST - 10th November

tkoind2 have you seen the number of people that play Airsoft in Japan. If Act 9 was gone I know a lot of people that play Airsoft that said they would join the military right away. I would be joining if Act 9 was removed. I did tactical firearms and sniper training in France for 6 months and now have a certificate as a trained Marksman with pistols, assault rifles and sniper rifles, but it is no use in Japan but for Airsoft games, I would love to join the military and use my skills for the good of Japan. I travel to Guam for a holiday once a year to practice.
elbudamexicano at 02:04 PM JST - 10th November

All of this is just some kind of performance by Hatoyama san to get attention and to try to show how different the DPJ is from the LDP and the Komeito party. In the end, it will all be for show, that is my feeling, because Japan needs the US bases here to keep away the pesky North Koreans, Chinese, Russians etc..away.
ElJeffeEnJapon at 02:14 PM JST - 10th November

newjapanese- airsoft is a whole different world than war. first get all of your buddies to try paintball. if they don't quit after getting hit by a ramped up paintball gun then maybe they might actually see if they could pass mustard in basic training. if they man up and make it out of basic it would be interesting to see how they would react when real bullets are flying. i think you are all talk. and it sounds like sh*t. what kind of military do you really think japan can produce? they're going to have to issue hair products to each soldier.
ElJeffeEnJapon at 02:15 PM JST - 10th November

oh yeah, key word in your last post: PLAY... war is not a game.
tkoind2 at 04:40 PM JST - 10th November

newjapanese. I am sorry but playing Airsoft and being in the real military are hardly comparable things. As for your personal training, there are a lot of para-military people in the US too. Most of them are hobbyists. Occassionally one of them goes on a rampage and vividly proves just how modest their training is when compared to people with real training.

Japan is far away from having a military that is up to Chinese or US standards in terms or capability, production of equipment etc...

You are dreaming if you think Japan's military and natural resources could be brought up to the level of protection provided by the US against conventional conflict. The cost, the social and political impact and the dangers far outweigh any benefit.

Any militant right wing or nationalistic notions you may harbor about Japan's return to military prowess must be tempered with the reality that the same factors that lost the last war exist today too.

Japan is better off leveraging her position as a peaceful nation and as an intermediary state instead of trying to start cold wars in Asia by returning to military status. It is good for the people of Japan and good for the world. And it keeps Japan from being the target of extremists. Win win.
combinibento at 04:48 PM JST - 10th November

newjapanese:

I would love to join the military and use my skills for the good of Japan. I travel to Guam for a holiday once a year to practice.

LOL. Some marksman you must be, practicing once a year after a 6 month training course!

ElJeffe:

...pass mustard in basic training.

LOL. Indeed, if he is training for a hot-dog contest.

Otherwise, time to cut the funding to these US projects. Totally unfair for Japan to shoulder the burden. The US can afford it if it can afford all these monster planes to drop monster bombs.
tkoind2 at 05:15 PM JST - 10th November

combinibento. The US already shoulders considerable costs to protect Japan's interests. Japan does and should pay a portion of that. It is cheaper than doing it on their own and is a good deal for them politically and economically.

The DPJ is just trying to blow their own horn and look productive to the people who voted them in. They know, very well, that the tide could easily swing against them next time. So they have to create the perception, at least, that they are doing something different than their LDP rivals.
combinibento at 05:29 PM JST - 10th November

The DPJ is just trying to blow their own horn and look productive to the people who voted them in.

No doubt. Hey I was thinking of a snappy comeback as to why the Japanese are perfectly capable of protecting themselves, why they shouldn't have to pay for the US presence, etc. And then I remembered the keystones. If the ones in charge of "protecting and serving" society do it with such incompetence here, who's to say the handling of national security matters and military organization won't be fumbled to an equal extent?
tkoind2 at 05:55 PM JST - 10th November

combinibento. sometimes the truth just sneaks up on us. I do think Japan's defence forces are very competent. But there are just too many very good reasons for Japan to stay out of the military world and to retain her current position.
perspective at 09:53 AM JST - 13th November

I would love to join the military and use my skills for the good of Japan.

Well, newjapanese, what's stopping you? Join the Self Defense Force. Walk the walk, don't just talk the talk.