- In the extraordinary cabinet meeting on 24 December 2001, the government
determined the budget bill for the fiscal year of 2002. The general
account amounts to 81.23 billion yen and decreases by 1.7% from the
previous year, while the general expenditure amounts to 47 trillion
547.2 billion yen and 2.3% less than the previous year. The annual
revenue is planned to be covered by the national bond of 30 trillion
yen and the tax revenue of a little less than 47 trillion yen. Sticking
to the principle of "the limit of the national bond at 30 trillion
yen", the bill gives top priority only to annual expenditure
control. It gives up the responsibility of the government for responding
to the worst ever unemployment problem and an overall revision should
be made to it.
- The general expenditures, such as public works, economic cooperation,
energy measures, small and medium-sized enterprises measures and others,
with the exception of social security (+3.8%) and education and technology
promotion (+0.3%), serve as a little more than 5 - 10% of curtailment.
However, the items of the curtailment are decided with a concept of
ministries' vertical division and they are completely insufficient
in terms of prioritizing the budget.
In the area of employment measures, progress was seen in the expansion
of public and consigned vocational skill development projects and
the strengthening of measures for unemployed high school/university
graduates. However, the size is not enough. In the area of social
welfare and medical services, the expansion in nursery is seen, but
the postponement of the medical services reform imposes additional
burden on patients and the insured.
About the annual revenue, the government sticks too much to national
bond of 30 trillion yen, while tax revenues decrease by 7.7% compared
with last year on the assumption that zero-rate economic growth. It
has made it consistent by the hidden debts of 2 trillion yen or more,
such as special accounts for foreign exchange and grant tax.
- Now, working people are faced with the nominal minus growth for
four consecutive years and the worst ever unemployment and employment/living
situation is critical. Measures which the government should incorporate
in the budget of the 2002 fiscal year are those that cancel the uneasiness
of the people about the future and employment and create the society
with bright hope to the future. In a more concrete sense, they are
strong employment measures to improve unemployment and social security
measures to strengthen the bases of pension, medical services and
nursing with a view to recovering consumption.
- Rengo has continued claiming, "Employment measures are the
most effective business stimulating measures and they are also what
the structural reform should aim at." The budget in the fiscal
year 2002 must be restructured as aiming at employment and living
security, focusing on the government responsibility for job creation
and the reduction of the unemployment rate and the expansion of consumption
by strengthening social security bases. And Rengo strives for realizing
its demands to recover the sense of security all over Japan.
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