January 29, 2021

The 2020 third supplementary budget draft was passed and enacted on January 28 at the House of Councilors plenary session by majority vote of the Liberal Democratic Party, the Komei Party, and the Nippon Ishin no Kai party. The Japanese Communist Party, the Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, and the Democratic Party for the People opposed the budget draft.

At an Upper House Budget Committee meeting held in advance of the plenary session, JCP lawmaker Yamazoe Taku used his question time to oppose the government-proposed third supplementary budget plan. He pointed out that in the 19 trillion-yen budget which was drafted before the declaration of a state of emergency, the government allocated only 4.4 trillion yen for anti-coronavirus measures. He said, “This budget plan is totally insufficient to deal with the ongoing emergency health situation.”

Yamazoe also pointed out that the supplementary budget is made up mostly of non-essential items, such as an extension of the “Go To” campaign period and large-scale public works projects. Furthermore, he cited that among the 19 trillion-yen supplementary budget, 281.6 billion yen will be used to make advance payments for the purchase of weapons. He said, “There is no urgency for such spending. It is unacceptable for the government to abuse the supplementary budget for a military buildup.” The JCP lawmaker urged the government to revise the third supplementary budget and increase spending on the strengthening of healthcare systems, the implementation of universal PCR testing, the provision of sufficient compensation for losses in earnings, and other demands from the general public who are experiencing stress and economic hardships caused by the pandemic.

Past related articles:
> Shii comments on 2nd COVID state of emergency [January 8, 2021]
> Gov’t should hurry to improve COVID-19-related measures before compiling 3rd supplementary budget [November 12, 2020]