February 17, 2009

Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi at a news conference on February 16 announced a JCP proposal for a drastic revision of the draft FY 2009 budget with the aim of preventing further economic deterioration and boosting domestic demand.

Pointing out that the current economic condition is “political disaster”, Ichida said that it was “mainly caused by ‘structural reform’ policies because they have destroyed a breakwater defending citizens from the tsunami of the worldwide economic crisis.”

The government’s draft budget shows its lack of reflection and critical analysis of its policies as well as a sense of crisis over the serious economic condition, Ichida criticized.

As the first pillar of the JCP’s demand, Ichida stressed the need to build an economy led by domestic demand, calling for measures to create stable jobs, support unemployed people’s living conditions and their job seeking efforts, increase welfare-related budgets, and support small-sized businesses.

He also proposed that the government cancel the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan and the restructuring of the Self-Defense Forces to enable them to operate abroad.

As the third pillar, Ichida called for the taxation system in favor of major corporations and the wealthy to be corrected.