ID :
98200
Tue, 01/05/2010 - 00:01
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/98200
The shortlink copeid
Hatoyama to make all-out efforts to get budgets passed soon
+
TOKYO, Jan. 4 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledged Monday that his government will make
all-out efforts to get the fiscal 2010 budget and the second extra budget for
fiscal 2009 passed soon to prevent the nation's economy from deteriorating
further.
In his first press conference of the year, the prime minister also indicated
his eagerness to secure Diet approval for a government-proposed bill to grant
permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections.
In a meeting with senior members of his Democratic Party of Japan earlier in
the day, Hatoyama confirmed that parliament will convene a 150-day ordinary
session Jan. 18 chiefly for deliberations on the budgets. If there is no
extension, the Diet will close June 16.
At the press conference, Hatoyama said, ''I would like to begin this year (by
implementing) the manifesto I promised during the election campaign and what
the three ruling parties agreed on'' such as monthly allowances for families
with children, free high school tuition and subsidies for farmers.
Hatoyama also vowed to reach a conclusion ''within several months'' on the
stalled issue of selecting a relocation site for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma
Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture that would gain the understanding of both
Washington and people in the southernmost prefecture.
In late December, Hatoyama promised to reach a decision on the matter by May.
''I have no intention of wasting time,'' Hatoyama told reporters at his office,
adding that any decision he would make will constitute ''the basis for the
(future) Japan-U.S. alliance.''
''I am confident people will say in the future, 'Hatoyama took too long, but he
came up with a good solution,''' he said.
With this year marking the 50th anniversary of the revision of the Japan-U.S.
security pact, Hatoyama also reiterated that he will seek to build a
multilayered bilateral relationship in which Japan can say what it needs to
say.
Speaking to reporters after visiting Ise Jingu, a Shinto shrine in Mie
Prefecture, later in the day, the 62-year-old leader also pledged to devote
himself to resolving the problem of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean
agents during the 1970s and 1980s.
''Taking into consideration (the situation surrounding) the victims abducted by
North Korea and their families, it is needless to say that we have to exert
every possible effort to tackle the issue,'' he said.
''When time is ripe and if it is truly necessary, I would like to think about
visiting North Korea. But unfortunately, it is not time yet,'' Hatoyama said,
while declining to comment specifically on when it would be.
Hatoyama then indicated that the government and the ruling parties are trying
to contact North Korea so that the two countries can discuss the abduction
issue, while admitting that none of them had made sufficient efforts to resume
negotiations with Pyongyang on the issue.
Among other matters, Hatoyama said at the press conference that his government
will proceed with more administrative reforms this year, including a
restructuring of state-backed administrative agencies and a ban on the practice
of so-called ''amakudari'' under which retiring bureaucrats land lucrative jobs
at agencies in sectors that they formerly oversaw.
The premier said he has no plans to reshuffle his three-month-old Cabinet
before the House of Councillors election this summer, stressing his primary
focus is on passing the budgets, which he says will help protect people's
livelihoods and buoy the economy.
At the party meeting held at its head office in Tokyo, Hatoyama told the
participants, ''We have to achieve a victory (in the election) under the
direction of Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. I would like you to put in efforts
with the determination to make (this year) a great year in Japanese history.''
''A change of government can never be our goal,'' he said. ''We are virtually
at a starting point. This year is the crucial time.''
The DPJ won a sweeping victory in the House of Representatives election last
August, ending the Liberal Democratic Party's almost unbroken half-century grip
on power.
Hatoyama denied at the press conference that he would call a lower house
election on the same day as the upper house poll, which is likely to be held
around July 11.
Concerning a political funds scandal involving two of his former state-paid
secretaries, Hatoyama said he is willing to fulfill his responsibility during
deliberations in parliament as well if necessary.
''Also on how the funds were used, I would like to explain it to some extent,
although I am not sure how much I know about it,'' he said. Hatoyama's fund
management body is alleged to have falsified political fund reports and listed
deceased people as donors.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, president of the main opposition LDP, expressed his
intention Monday to grill Hatoyama in parliament over the scandal, saying, ''We
should accuse him harshly to get his Cabinet to resign en masse or have him
dissolve the lower house to seek a popular mandate.''
''It is the year of an important showdown,'' Tanigaki said at a press
conference after visiting the Ise shrine. ''We will fight through with a
determination to secure victory (in the upper house election).''
On possibly amending the Constitution, Hatoyama said he thinks it is important
for each of the three ruling coalition parties to compile its own direction on
the matter first.
He also said his government will review the current administrative framework
based on the central government to give more power to the people and
municipalities.
The Hatoyama government approved on Dec. 25 the largest-ever budget of 92.30
trillion yen for the new fiscal year starting April, to finance stimulus steps
including monthly allowances for families with children in line with the DPJ's
manifesto.
The second extra budget for the current fiscal year through March 31 will
finance a fresh 7.2 trillion yen stimulus package, including employment
subsidies, incentives for consumers to buy environmentally friendly products
and expanded credit guarantees for small and midsize firms.
==Kyodo
2010-01-04 23:34:59
TOKYO, Jan. 4 Kyodo -
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama pledged Monday that his government will make
all-out efforts to get the fiscal 2010 budget and the second extra budget for
fiscal 2009 passed soon to prevent the nation's economy from deteriorating
further.
In his first press conference of the year, the prime minister also indicated
his eagerness to secure Diet approval for a government-proposed bill to grant
permanent foreign residents the right to vote in local elections.
In a meeting with senior members of his Democratic Party of Japan earlier in
the day, Hatoyama confirmed that parliament will convene a 150-day ordinary
session Jan. 18 chiefly for deliberations on the budgets. If there is no
extension, the Diet will close June 16.
At the press conference, Hatoyama said, ''I would like to begin this year (by
implementing) the manifesto I promised during the election campaign and what
the three ruling parties agreed on'' such as monthly allowances for families
with children, free high school tuition and subsidies for farmers.
Hatoyama also vowed to reach a conclusion ''within several months'' on the
stalled issue of selecting a relocation site for the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma
Air Station in Okinawa Prefecture that would gain the understanding of both
Washington and people in the southernmost prefecture.
In late December, Hatoyama promised to reach a decision on the matter by May.
''I have no intention of wasting time,'' Hatoyama told reporters at his office,
adding that any decision he would make will constitute ''the basis for the
(future) Japan-U.S. alliance.''
''I am confident people will say in the future, 'Hatoyama took too long, but he
came up with a good solution,''' he said.
With this year marking the 50th anniversary of the revision of the Japan-U.S.
security pact, Hatoyama also reiterated that he will seek to build a
multilayered bilateral relationship in which Japan can say what it needs to
say.
Speaking to reporters after visiting Ise Jingu, a Shinto shrine in Mie
Prefecture, later in the day, the 62-year-old leader also pledged to devote
himself to resolving the problem of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korean
agents during the 1970s and 1980s.
''Taking into consideration (the situation surrounding) the victims abducted by
North Korea and their families, it is needless to say that we have to exert
every possible effort to tackle the issue,'' he said.
''When time is ripe and if it is truly necessary, I would like to think about
visiting North Korea. But unfortunately, it is not time yet,'' Hatoyama said,
while declining to comment specifically on when it would be.
Hatoyama then indicated that the government and the ruling parties are trying
to contact North Korea so that the two countries can discuss the abduction
issue, while admitting that none of them had made sufficient efforts to resume
negotiations with Pyongyang on the issue.
Among other matters, Hatoyama said at the press conference that his government
will proceed with more administrative reforms this year, including a
restructuring of state-backed administrative agencies and a ban on the practice
of so-called ''amakudari'' under which retiring bureaucrats land lucrative jobs
at agencies in sectors that they formerly oversaw.
The premier said he has no plans to reshuffle his three-month-old Cabinet
before the House of Councillors election this summer, stressing his primary
focus is on passing the budgets, which he says will help protect people's
livelihoods and buoy the economy.
At the party meeting held at its head office in Tokyo, Hatoyama told the
participants, ''We have to achieve a victory (in the election) under the
direction of Secretary General Ichiro Ozawa. I would like you to put in efforts
with the determination to make (this year) a great year in Japanese history.''
''A change of government can never be our goal,'' he said. ''We are virtually
at a starting point. This year is the crucial time.''
The DPJ won a sweeping victory in the House of Representatives election last
August, ending the Liberal Democratic Party's almost unbroken half-century grip
on power.
Hatoyama denied at the press conference that he would call a lower house
election on the same day as the upper house poll, which is likely to be held
around July 11.
Concerning a political funds scandal involving two of his former state-paid
secretaries, Hatoyama said he is willing to fulfill his responsibility during
deliberations in parliament as well if necessary.
''Also on how the funds were used, I would like to explain it to some extent,
although I am not sure how much I know about it,'' he said. Hatoyama's fund
management body is alleged to have falsified political fund reports and listed
deceased people as donors.
Sadakazu Tanigaki, president of the main opposition LDP, expressed his
intention Monday to grill Hatoyama in parliament over the scandal, saying, ''We
should accuse him harshly to get his Cabinet to resign en masse or have him
dissolve the lower house to seek a popular mandate.''
''It is the year of an important showdown,'' Tanigaki said at a press
conference after visiting the Ise shrine. ''We will fight through with a
determination to secure victory (in the upper house election).''
On possibly amending the Constitution, Hatoyama said he thinks it is important
for each of the three ruling coalition parties to compile its own direction on
the matter first.
He also said his government will review the current administrative framework
based on the central government to give more power to the people and
municipalities.
The Hatoyama government approved on Dec. 25 the largest-ever budget of 92.30
trillion yen for the new fiscal year starting April, to finance stimulus steps
including monthly allowances for families with children in line with the DPJ's
manifesto.
The second extra budget for the current fiscal year through March 31 will
finance a fresh 7.2 trillion yen stimulus package, including employment
subsidies, incentives for consumers to buy environmentally friendly products
and expanded credit guarantees for small and midsize firms.
==Kyodo
2010-01-04 23:34:59
