ID :
14370
Wed, 07/30/2008 - 11:52
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https://oananews.org//node/14370
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Cabinet OKs 47.84 trillion yen spending cap for FY 2009 budget+
TOKYO, July 30 Kyodo - The Cabinet formally approved Tuesday a 47.84 trillion yen cap on corepolicy-related outlays and an allotment of 330 billion yen for priority policy matters for fiscal 2009, prompting government ministries and agencies to startcompiling their budgetary requests for filing by the end of August.
The administration of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda endorsed the spending cap for the year starting next April, which is up about 560 billion yen from general expenditures of 47.28 trillion yen in the fiscal 2008 state budget, after thegovernment's key economic panel sanctioned the cap.
The 330 billion yen in outlays for priority policy matters, such as measures to deal with a shortage of doctors and ways to boost Japan's growth potential, isup more than sixfold from 50 billion yen in the current business year.
The Finance Ministry will examine budgetary requests and compile the fiscal2009 general-account state budget in late December.
Fukuda said at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy that the outlays for key policy areas should cover ''truly emergent issues'' and urged each ministry to come up with concrete policies, according to Economic andFiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota and Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga.
The two ministers are members of the key economic panel headed by Fukuda.
The prime minister later told reporters that the 330 billion yen should be used for ''priority areas that are very important in people's lives, such as the enhancement of economic growth, the promotion of a low-carbon society and social security.'' Nukaga said at his press conference that the special outlays should indicate ''major trends of Japan's policies'' to cater to the people's needs andrevitalize the nation's economy.
He said those expenditures should not be recognized as pork-barrel spending,because the country has been striving to improve its fiscal health.
Ota told a separate news conference that the process of determining how to use the priority outlays should ensure transparency. The economic panel will examine requests filed for portions of the 330 billion yen in the fall, sheadded.
Under the guidelines for the fiscal 2009 budget, the government will continueto slash spending on public works projects by 3 percent from the previous year.
It will also keep the policy of curbing the natural increase in social securitycosts caused by the rapid aging of the population by 220 billion yen.
On a general account basis, medical and nursing care expenses as well as pension and welfare payments are expected to increase by 870 billion yen infiscal 2009 from about 21.0 trillion yen earmarked in the fiscal 2008 budget.
But the government will cap the growth at 650 billion yen to set the upperlimit on such spending at 21.6 trillion yen in the fiscal 2009 budget.
The government will also stick with its policy of trimming defense spending as well as expenses and subsidies for state-run and private universities by 1percent from the previous year.
It will maintain spending on the promotion of science and technology at thesame level as in the fiscal 2008 budget.
To secure revenue sources for the 330 billion yen special outlays for key policy areas, the government will aim for an additional 2 percentage point cut in discretionary expenditures such as public works spending which could eitherbe increased or decreased according to policy.
As for mandatory spending including personnel expenditures, the spending capfor fiscal 2009 will be set at almost the same level as in the previous year.
In the next fiscal year, those outlays will include spending for special factors such as 70 billion yen for the upcoming House of Representatives election and 34 billion yen for stockpiling the Tamiflu anti-influenza drug,government officials said.
==Kyodo
The administration of Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda endorsed the spending cap for the year starting next April, which is up about 560 billion yen from general expenditures of 47.28 trillion yen in the fiscal 2008 state budget, after thegovernment's key economic panel sanctioned the cap.
The 330 billion yen in outlays for priority policy matters, such as measures to deal with a shortage of doctors and ways to boost Japan's growth potential, isup more than sixfold from 50 billion yen in the current business year.
The Finance Ministry will examine budgetary requests and compile the fiscal2009 general-account state budget in late December.
Fukuda said at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy that the outlays for key policy areas should cover ''truly emergent issues'' and urged each ministry to come up with concrete policies, according to Economic andFiscal Policy Minister Hiroko Ota and Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga.
The two ministers are members of the key economic panel headed by Fukuda.
The prime minister later told reporters that the 330 billion yen should be used for ''priority areas that are very important in people's lives, such as the enhancement of economic growth, the promotion of a low-carbon society and social security.'' Nukaga said at his press conference that the special outlays should indicate ''major trends of Japan's policies'' to cater to the people's needs andrevitalize the nation's economy.
He said those expenditures should not be recognized as pork-barrel spending,because the country has been striving to improve its fiscal health.
Ota told a separate news conference that the process of determining how to use the priority outlays should ensure transparency. The economic panel will examine requests filed for portions of the 330 billion yen in the fall, sheadded.
Under the guidelines for the fiscal 2009 budget, the government will continueto slash spending on public works projects by 3 percent from the previous year.
It will also keep the policy of curbing the natural increase in social securitycosts caused by the rapid aging of the population by 220 billion yen.
On a general account basis, medical and nursing care expenses as well as pension and welfare payments are expected to increase by 870 billion yen infiscal 2009 from about 21.0 trillion yen earmarked in the fiscal 2008 budget.
But the government will cap the growth at 650 billion yen to set the upperlimit on such spending at 21.6 trillion yen in the fiscal 2009 budget.
The government will also stick with its policy of trimming defense spending as well as expenses and subsidies for state-run and private universities by 1percent from the previous year.
It will maintain spending on the promotion of science and technology at thesame level as in the fiscal 2008 budget.
To secure revenue sources for the 330 billion yen special outlays for key policy areas, the government will aim for an additional 2 percentage point cut in discretionary expenditures such as public works spending which could eitherbe increased or decreased according to policy.
As for mandatory spending including personnel expenditures, the spending capfor fiscal 2009 will be set at almost the same level as in the previous year.
In the next fiscal year, those outlays will include spending for special factors such as 70 billion yen for the upcoming House of Representatives election and 34 billion yen for stockpiling the Tamiflu anti-influenza drug,government officials said.
==Kyodo
