Home > News > Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary > August 2011 > Tuesday, August 23, 2011 (AM)
Tuesday, August 23, 2011 (AM)
Press Conference by the Chief Cabinet Secretary (Excerpt)
[Provisional Translation]
Opening Statement by Chief Cabinet Secretary Edano
(Abridged)
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: I would like to report about the FY2012 budget requests. At today's Cabinet meeting, a special ordinance under Article 8 of the Cabinet Order concerning the Budget, Auditing and Accounting was established and it was decided that the deadline for submitting the FY2012 budget requests will be the last day of September.
In addition, from the standpoint of swiftly commencing the tasks for carrying out the budget requests, the Minister of Finance said, in response to the Prime Minister's comment, that the ministers of each ministry will be informed separately of the procedures on the necessary preparations for formulating the FY2012 budget. These are provisional and mechanical procedures. Based on the amount from the previous fiscal year, these procedures will factor in necessary reductions in certain expenditures to comply with the Medium-term Fiscal Framework. Meanwhile, reconstruction measures and hepatitis B-related payments will fall under a separate framework and the necessary amounts will be requested.
The Guidelines for Budget Requests will be approved by the Cabinet in mid-September. In this process, the specific priorities and vision of the budget will be decided. The provisional and mechanical procedures were established to this end.
For details, please direct your questions to the Ministry of Finance.
Q&As
(Abridged)
REPORTER: I have a question on the situation in Libya. Opposition forces have taken control of Tripoli. What sort of stance does the Japanese Government intend to take in regards to this situation or circumstance?
CHIEF CABINET SECRETARY EDANO: As I am aware, there are serious developments occurring in the lead up to the collapse of Gaddafi's regime. Meanwhile, there are also reports that clashes are still erupting sporadically. At any event, we hope that based on the Roadmap unveiled by the Interim National Council of Libya, a new political process will be initiated with the participation of a wide range of Libyan people and without any more bloodshed. We hope that the Constitution, the Government and democratic elections will be implemented peacefully. Japan would like to extend necessary assistance in cooperation with the international community.
(Abridged)
