Japan Press Weekly

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2011 April 27 - May 10 [POLITICS]

Extra budget for disaster relief passed in Lower House

The House of Representatives at the plenary session on April 30 unanimously passed the 2011 supplementary budget draft for disaster relief for the March 11 disaster victims and for reconstruction work.

The budget draft comes to about four trillion yen for emergent expenses such as for the construction of temporary dwellings, removal of rubble, and condolence money to bereaved families.

Japanese Communist Party representative Kasai Akira in support of the budget draft called for an increased ceiling on the amount of compensation from the present three million yen in addition to release of relief donations and condolence money to disaster sufferers.

Pointing out that more than 130,000 people are still living in evacuation shelters, Kasai stated, “It is important to make every possible effort to ensure proper housing, including temporary dwellings, for all evacuees.”

In order to secure funds for relief and reconstruction, Kasai demanded that the government stop giving preferential tax treatment to large corporations and large asset holders, revoke the budget for the construction of new nuclear reactors, and end the so-called “sympathy budget” for the stationing of U.S. military forces in Japan.

Kasai criticized the government for its intent to raise the consumption tax rate to make up for a 2.5-trillion-yen decrease in pension reserves to be diverted to the reconstruction fund. He stated, “The JCP will not accept an increase in the consumption tax” under the guise of disaster relief.”