Ichida urges DPJ to come up with a plan to secure revenue sources

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Ichida urges DPJ to come up with a plan to secure revenue sources

On August 31, the day after the House of Representatives general election, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi urged the Democratic Party, which will become a ruling party, to come up with a plan to secure fiscal resources to implement the policies it promised during the election campaign.

Ichida made the remark on an NHK debate program aired live.

He said, "The DPJ should respond to the question many people might have regarding the issue."

Ichida making the following two points:

1. It is necessary to review and slash any funding for large-scale public works projects that do not serve the public interest and funding for the stationing of the U.S. forces in Japan under the name of the "sympathy budget" which amounts to five trillion yen a year.

2. It is necessary to revoke the excessive tax breaks for large corporations and the wealthy and restore the rate of taxes on them to the level of 10 years ago.

He also said,"Even in the United States, increasing the tax rates for the wealthy and reductions in the military budget are being discussed with the aim of creating fiscal resources to implement policies in the public interest. The key to solve the problem in Japan is to cut budget expenditures in areas currently excluded from reductions without depending on consumption tax revenues."

In the discussion, Social Democratic Party Leader Fukushima Mizuho said, "The need is to review the defense budget and cut the 'sympathy budget' to pay the costs for the stationing of U.S. forces in Japan and to review the beltway construction that will cost 100 million yen per meter."

Ichida then pointed out that the Democratic Party supported the plan to construct the costly road and also urged for support for the call for the "sympathy budget" to be slashed. "This is the issue that needs serious discussion," adding that 82 percent of the respondents in a poll said they are uncertain about how the DPJ can secure revenue sources for carrying out policies it promised in the election.

- Akahata, September 1, 2009