Japan Press Weekly

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2012 August 1 - 14 [WELFARE]

URA should protect right of residence: JCP Kokuta

The Urban Renaissance Agency, a governmental public housing organization, has drastically reduced public housing units even though they are not in a state of insolvency.

Japanese Communist Party member of the House of Representatives Kokuta Keiji took up this issue on July 27 in a House construction and transport committee meeting.

Kokuta questioned the land and infrastructure ministry, “The URA claims that it needs streamlining of management due to its debt running up to 14 trillion yen. Has the corporation really fallen into a status of excess debt?”

The chief of the ministry’s housing bureau answered, “The URA has 14.7 trillion yen in assets and 13.9 trillion yen in debts in fiscal 2011. The amount of its assets exceeds that of debts.”

The URA and the land ministry decided on a plan at the end of 2007 to cut 80,000 units of public housing out of 770,000 over a period of 10 years on the pretext that the agency had a huge debt. They have promoted “rationalization” ever since.

As the housing organization under the control of the national government, the URA should establish a policy to provide sufficient and affordable public housing units for people.