Japan Press Weekly

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2013 March 27 - April 2 [TOKYO]

Inose’s first budget bill approved

The Japanese Communist Party on March 28 in the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly plenary session voted against Governor Inose’s first budget bill that clearly indicates that he intends to step into the shoes of his predecessor Ishihara’s pro-large development policies.

The bill was, however, approved by a majority vote of other political parties, including the Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Democratic parties.

In the deliberation prior to the vote, JCP lawmaker Oshima Yoshie criticized the governor for “giving the primary importance to unnecessary large-scale development projects while allocating an insufficient budget to welfare services, employment measures, support for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and disaster prevention measures.”

She introduced the JCP proposal for budget allocation. In the proposal, the JCP states that the use of 20% of Tokyo’s funds for inviting the 2020 Olympics and a 3.1% change in the budget allocation will enable the Tokyo government to carry out 140 projects: the construction of special facilities for 5,000 elderly and day-care centers for 7,500 children; a decrease in premiums for three health insurance programs, including the national health insurance program, by 5,000 yen each; and the construction of 2,000 public housing units.

Oshima urged the governor to double the budget for SME assistance measures and subsidize SMEs to increase their employees’ wages.

Calling for an increase in the education budget, she demanded that Governor Inose stop cutting jobs at Tokyo-run high schools, such as for librarians and clerical workers, and at schools for disabled children.