Tuesday, February 3, 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 fiscal 2009 budget proposal.

Asked about the focus of the budget proposal, Prime Minister Aso said, "We judged that in the near term, emphasis should be on reviving business activity. The budget proposal is formulated accordingly. At the same time, we cannot simply advance measures to stimulate the economy alone, without addressing fiscal issues. It is important for the government to maintain a stance that demonstrates fiscal responsibility over the long term. Our challenge is to make the utmost efforts to revive business activity in the near term while flying the flag of rebuilding government finances."

In response to a question about how the Prime Minister perceives watari, the practice of retired civil servants switching jobs among related organizations, he said, "Legally speaking, watari is not prohibited during the three-year transition period. However, I clearly stated that applications [to take up positions after retirement] shall not be accepted. In addition, I hope to accelerate efforts to eradicate job-searching on behalf of retiring officials from ministries and agencies seeking amakudari [the practice criticized as privileges of civil servants] without waiting for the passage of three years. In concrete terms, we aim to establish a government ordinance that by the end of this year will end the practices of watari and amakudari, in an effort to make clear the government's stance."