Thursday, January 8, 2009

The Prime Minister Attends a Meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives

Prime Minister Taro Aso attended a meeting of the Budget Committee of the House of Representatives and answered questions from Committee members on the second fiscal 2008 supplementary budget proposal.

Asked about the positioning of the second supplementary budget and considerations made in the budget formulation, Prime Minister Aso said, "It is extremely important to implement the first and second fiscal 2008 supplementary budgets and the fiscal 2009 budget in a seamless manner in order to extricate ourselves from the recession.　These measures make employment and cash-flow problems the top priority. Countermeasures against cash-flow problems can also work as countermeasures for employment, as smooth cash flow will lead to securing employment for those working for small- and medium-sized companies. In addition, we mainly focused on three points in the second fiscal 2008 supplementary budget formulation process: ensuring safety and peace of mind in people's daily lives; stabilizing and strengthening the economy and finance; and revitalizing the regions in order for Japan as a whole to be revitalized."