JAPAN: Hatoyama 'seriously reflecting' on role of money in politics, says reforms coming

March 17, 2010

(Mainichi Japan)

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Tuesday that he is "seriously reflecting" on the relationship between politics and money, an issue that has dogged his administration in its first six months in power, and suggested political funding reforms are on the way.

Talking about the priorities for the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ)-led government as it moves past the half-year mark, Hatoyama said he hopes "to complete the program of government reform and eliminating government waste."

At the beginning of his comments to the media at his office, the prime minister reflected on the money scandals which have tainted his fledgling government, saying,

"We have been scolded severely by the people for not changing (politics), and over the problem of the role of money in politics. They demand that we fulfill our responsibilities and provide a proper explanation.

"I want to speed up political reforms such as the prohibition of donations from business organizations and defining the status of politicians' private secretaries in cooperation with all parties, and present an answer on these issues (to the people)," Hatoyama continued, suggesting that reforms to the Political Funds Control Law are forthcoming.

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JAPAN: Japan opens 98th national airport

Page last updated at 06:50 GMT, Thursday, 11 March 2010

By Roland Buerk
BBC News, Tokyo

Japan's 98th airport has begun operations - offering just one flight a day.

Ibaraki airport cost 22bn Yen ($220m, £147m) to build and is being seen in Japan as a prime example of wasteful public expenditure.

It is located 80km (50 miles) and a long bus ride north of Tokyo.

The airport was conceived as a hub for budget carriers but the check-in counters were almost deserted as operations began.

There is just one plane a day, to South Korea. Another flight, to the Japanese city of Kobe, will begin next month.

The airport has become a symbol of decades of public spending to prop up the economy that has left Japan studded with bridges to nowhere and unneeded dams.

The new centre-left government, which came to power last year, has criticised the links between previous conservative administrations and the construction industry, and vowed to cut waste.

International travellers tired of long queues and crowded departure lounges should perhaps consider flying to Ibaraki.

But Ibaraki itself has little to commend it to Korean tourists who might be thinking of catching the single daily flight from Seoul.

Apart from one well-known Japanese garden the prefecture's main claim to fame is the locals' skill in making natto, a fermented soy bean dish that many consider an acquired taste.

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Tokyo freezes $33 bln spending plan

(AFP) – Oct 15, 2009

TOKYO — Japan's government announced on Friday it would freeze spending of about 33 billion dollars from the previous administration's extra budget as part of its war on waste in the public sector.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's cabinet approved the suspension of spending of about 2.93 trillion yen (33 billion dollars), out of a supplementary budget of 14.7 trillion yen for the year to March 2010.

The cuts were just short of the government's target of three trillion yen. Former premier Taro Aso pushed the extra budget through parliament in May to fund his economic stimulus measures.

The savings were "unprecedented," said Hatoyama, whose Democratic Party took power last month, ending more than half a century of almost unbroken conservative rule.

"In a way, this is the start of new politics," he said.

Hatoyama's centre-left government plans to use the money to fund its campaign promises, such as expanded childcare allowances, an end to expressway tolls and free public high school tuition fees.

It has scrapped some projects including a planned national media arts centre aimed at promoting manga cartoons and animated films, as well as an expansion of highways and public housing development programmes.

The Hatoyama government will continue to try to cut waste, said Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano.

Hatoyama has "instructed the ministers to conduct thorough spending cuts in drafting (the next year's) budget," Hirano told a regular press conference.

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