Koizumi plans to propose wartime legislation: policy speech

Prime Minister Koizumi Jun'ichiro in his policy speech in parliament on February 4 completely ignored public criticism of his cabinet for its recent missteps, including the Foreign Ministry exclusion of NGOs from an international conference on assistance for Afghanistan and a series of political corruption cases.

Referring to the recent sharp drop of the pubic support rate for the Koizumi Cabinet, Koizumi said, "I will advance reform with firm resolve."

The prime minister instead used his speech to ask the people to endure even heavier economic burdens, and expressed his intention to propose legislation "for a response to national emergencies" in the current Diet session.

Koizumi expressed his "respect and gratitude" to those "including the members of the Self-Defense Forces, currently engaged in activities in the Indian Ocean" to support the U.S.-led retaliatory war by using the need for countermeasures against terrorism as a pretext.

Acknowledging that "the pains" from his economic and fiscal reforms "are beginning to be felt," he called on the people "to be strong and never lose hope for the future." He urged "a spirit of self-help and self-discipline" on the people in a guise that his reform is gaining "broad support of the people."

In his abstract speech, he set a time limit to certain issues: basic finishing of the disposal of bad loans in fiscal 2004; new tax policies for increasing the consumption tax rate and lowering the ceiling for tax-free income to be announced around June; and a proposal on the system for a direct election of the prime minister to be compiled by the summer. (end)