February 17, 2011
At a Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly meeting on February 15, Japanese Communist Party representative Oyama Tomoko criticized Governor Ishihara Shintaro for promoting “the worst policies for Tokyo residents” for the last 12 years. She called on the local government to drastically improve its support measures affecting welfare, education, employment, and smaller businesses.
Lowest welfare spending for the elderly
Oyama criticized Ishihara for declaring many of Tokyo’s welfare programs as “wasteful” and abolishing them, including benefits for bedridden elderly people, medical care subsidies for residents from 65 to 69 years old, and the “silver pass” system (free metropolitan transport services for the elderly over 70). The metropolitan government under Ishihara also ended its financial assistance for nursing-care facilities for the elderly in paying for their labor and land costs.
Tokyo’s spending per-capita on welfare services for the elderly has decreased to 80,000 yen from 130,000 in FY 1999, slipping to the bottom ranking, down from its previous second highest rank among all 47 prefectures.
Governor Ishihara responded to Oyama’s criticism by saying, “We have reviewed programs which do not fit present conditions.”
In the capital city of Japan, the number of elderly people who are waiting to enter a nursing-care facility has exceeded 43,000, three times more than 12 years ago when Ishihara took office, while public budgets for building such facilities have been reduced by 60 percent.
The JCP Metropolitan Assembly member demanded that the Tokyo government restore its financial assistance programs for nursing homes and use public land, owned by itself or the national government, to build such facilities.
Oyama also condemned the metropolitan government for cutting educational budgets and failing to promote a smaller class size for public schools. She urged it to open more special schools for disabled students and improve its financial support to private high school students whose tuition is much more expensive than those who go to public high schools.
Support SMEs
Oyama revealed that as a result of abolishing support measures for small- and medium-sized enterprises, industrial area-revitalization projects, and other programs in support of smaller businesses, Tokyo’s commerce and industry-related spending has decreased to 5.4% of its total expenditures, much lower than the national average of 8.5%.
The JCP member called on the metropolitan government to provide SMEs with long-term, low-interest loans and introduce a subsidy system for residents’ house renovations that helps increase orders to local construction-related companies. She also recommended that it install an ordinance on public contracts that guarantees prices in contracts for public works.
Risky water business
Oyama criticized the Tokyo government for expending 12 trillion yen in total in investment-related expenses in 12 years, for building the controversial Shinagawa loop of the metropolitan expressway, and for unnecessarily shouldering the cost for some state businesses. The JCP assembly member also pointed out that the international strategic container port program is under fire from port experts because its 18-meter deep wharves are unnecessary, and urged that the program be suspended.
Oyama blamed the Tokyo government for spending a lot of tax revenues in an attempt to host the Olympic Games and for paying 220 million yen for 13 overseas business trips by Ishihara in the last four years (almost equal to the 240 million yen used in the preceding 8 years). Oyama gave an example of the waste in which Governor Ishihara in 2008 stayed at a luxurious hotel room in Beijing that charged 240,000 yen per night.
Oyama then took up the question of the Tokyo government using 140 billion yen from tax revenues to invest in a banking business by setting up a new bank named Shin Ginko Tokyo and attempting to launch an international water supply project in Australia and elsewhere in the name of “international contribution.” The JCP assembly woman said that a major water company funded by western capital had gained control of the water supply in Bolivia but had to withdraw due to the massive opposition by citizens and the subsequent change in the Bolivian government. The JCP demanded that the Tokyo government stay away from taking part in the project because a Tokyo-government affiliated organization, Tokyo Water Services, may incur losses to water-related private corporations in Japan.
Governor Ishihara defiantly stated that the Tokyo Government should “shoulder a certain part” of the cost for building highways and ports. On Tokyo’s possible entry in the controversial water business project, he supported the project as “possibly working as a catalyst in the formation of business alliances,” and dismissed any problems involved in it.
DPJ, LDP, and Komei, praise governor
In sharp contrast to the JCP, the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Komei Party praised Governor Ishihara for his fiscal management and encouraged his promotion of wasteful large-scale public works projects.
DPJ Osawa Noboru said that he fundamentally supports the governor’s fiscal management in which citizens’ livelihoods are discarded. He urged the governor to promote the development of the three ports in the Keihin area as part of the international strategic container port project to attract foreign firms.
LDP Miyake Shigeki praised the governor for increasing investment-related spending for seven years in a row, and urged promoting more large-scale public works projects, saying “Now is the time to aggressively promote necessary businesses.” He demanded an early completion of the Tokyo beltway construction costing 100 million yen per meter.
Nakajima Yoshio of the Komei Party praised the FY 2011 budget draft as reflecting the Tokyo government’s earnest efforts seeking a solid fiscal management. He called for more large-scale land development, saying “The government should formulate an urban revival project by integrating the economic abilities of the private sector.”
Governor Ishihara in his reply stressed the policy of promoting large-scale development, including the construction of the planned three beltways.
Lowest welfare spending for the elderly
Oyama criticized Ishihara for declaring many of Tokyo’s welfare programs as “wasteful” and abolishing them, including benefits for bedridden elderly people, medical care subsidies for residents from 65 to 69 years old, and the “silver pass” system (free metropolitan transport services for the elderly over 70). The metropolitan government under Ishihara also ended its financial assistance for nursing-care facilities for the elderly in paying for their labor and land costs.
Tokyo’s spending per-capita on welfare services for the elderly has decreased to 80,000 yen from 130,000 in FY 1999, slipping to the bottom ranking, down from its previous second highest rank among all 47 prefectures.
Governor Ishihara responded to Oyama’s criticism by saying, “We have reviewed programs which do not fit present conditions.”
In the capital city of Japan, the number of elderly people who are waiting to enter a nursing-care facility has exceeded 43,000, three times more than 12 years ago when Ishihara took office, while public budgets for building such facilities have been reduced by 60 percent.
The JCP Metropolitan Assembly member demanded that the Tokyo government restore its financial assistance programs for nursing homes and use public land, owned by itself or the national government, to build such facilities.
Oyama also condemned the metropolitan government for cutting educational budgets and failing to promote a smaller class size for public schools. She urged it to open more special schools for disabled students and improve its financial support to private high school students whose tuition is much more expensive than those who go to public high schools.
Support SMEs
Oyama revealed that as a result of abolishing support measures for small- and medium-sized enterprises, industrial area-revitalization projects, and other programs in support of smaller businesses, Tokyo’s commerce and industry-related spending has decreased to 5.4% of its total expenditures, much lower than the national average of 8.5%.
The JCP member called on the metropolitan government to provide SMEs with long-term, low-interest loans and introduce a subsidy system for residents’ house renovations that helps increase orders to local construction-related companies. She also recommended that it install an ordinance on public contracts that guarantees prices in contracts for public works.
Risky water business
Oyama criticized the Tokyo government for expending 12 trillion yen in total in investment-related expenses in 12 years, for building the controversial Shinagawa loop of the metropolitan expressway, and for unnecessarily shouldering the cost for some state businesses. The JCP assembly member also pointed out that the international strategic container port program is under fire from port experts because its 18-meter deep wharves are unnecessary, and urged that the program be suspended.
Oyama blamed the Tokyo government for spending a lot of tax revenues in an attempt to host the Olympic Games and for paying 220 million yen for 13 overseas business trips by Ishihara in the last four years (almost equal to the 240 million yen used in the preceding 8 years). Oyama gave an example of the waste in which Governor Ishihara in 2008 stayed at a luxurious hotel room in Beijing that charged 240,000 yen per night.
Oyama then took up the question of the Tokyo government using 140 billion yen from tax revenues to invest in a banking business by setting up a new bank named Shin Ginko Tokyo and attempting to launch an international water supply project in Australia and elsewhere in the name of “international contribution.” The JCP assembly woman said that a major water company funded by western capital had gained control of the water supply in Bolivia but had to withdraw due to the massive opposition by citizens and the subsequent change in the Bolivian government. The JCP demanded that the Tokyo government stay away from taking part in the project because a Tokyo-government affiliated organization, Tokyo Water Services, may incur losses to water-related private corporations in Japan.
Governor Ishihara defiantly stated that the Tokyo Government should “shoulder a certain part” of the cost for building highways and ports. On Tokyo’s possible entry in the controversial water business project, he supported the project as “possibly working as a catalyst in the formation of business alliances,” and dismissed any problems involved in it.
DPJ, LDP, and Komei, praise governor
In sharp contrast to the JCP, the Democratic Party of Japan, the Liberal Democratic Party, and the Komei Party praised Governor Ishihara for his fiscal management and encouraged his promotion of wasteful large-scale public works projects.
DPJ Osawa Noboru said that he fundamentally supports the governor’s fiscal management in which citizens’ livelihoods are discarded. He urged the governor to promote the development of the three ports in the Keihin area as part of the international strategic container port project to attract foreign firms.
LDP Miyake Shigeki praised the governor for increasing investment-related spending for seven years in a row, and urged promoting more large-scale public works projects, saying “Now is the time to aggressively promote necessary businesses.” He demanded an early completion of the Tokyo beltway construction costing 100 million yen per meter.
Nakajima Yoshio of the Komei Party praised the FY 2011 budget draft as reflecting the Tokyo government’s earnest efforts seeking a solid fiscal management. He called for more large-scale land development, saying “The government should formulate an urban revival project by integrating the economic abilities of the private sector.”
Governor Ishihara in his reply stressed the policy of promoting large-scale development, including the construction of the planned three beltways.
