Extension of earmarked revenue for road construction is outrageous: JCP Ichida

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Extension of earmarked revenue for road construction is outrageous: JCP Ichida

In the House of Representatives Plenary Session on May 13, the ruling parties used their two-thirds majority to override a House of Councilors decision and enact the bill to maintain tax revenues to be used for road construction for the next 10 years.

The bill was voted down the day before in the House of Councilors, where the opposition Japanese Communist, Democratic, and Social Democratic parties are majority.

The legislation contradicts the government’s decision to allow road-related tax revenues to be used for general purposes beginning in April 2009.

JCP Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi at a news conference on May 12 said, “How outrageous it is to enact this bill! Many people are critical of the policy of maintaining the earmarked revenues for road construction as indicated by recent opinion polls.”

He also criticized Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo for trying to finish the 10-year road construction plan in five years instead of abolishing it. The plan is to use 59 trillion yen in tax revenues to construct more highways.

“The need now is to enable the earmarked revenue to be used for welfare, education, and medical programs,” Ichida emphasized.

- Akahata, May 13 & 14, 2008