Japan to cut ODA budget by 3.4% for 7th straight yr
December 19, 2005The Finance Ministry proposed Tuesday cutting Japanese foreign aid by 3.4 percent in fiscal 2006, marking the seventh straight year it has been cut in the initial budget, but secured new funding to combat terrorism and increase its low-interest yen loans for Iraq's reconstruction. The ministry has allocated 759.7 billion yen (about $6.5 billion) for official development assistance in the draft budget for the next fiscal year starting April 1, down from 786.2 billion yen in the initial budget for the current fiscal year.
Gov't eyes 12.5% investment spending cut in FY 2006, 27-yr low
December 19, 2005The Finance Ministry on Tuesday proposed a 12.5 percent cut in the government's fiscal investment and loan program in fiscal 2006 to a 27-year low, mirroring the program's diminishing project-financing role amid a reconfiguration of government-affiliated agencies. The proposed outlays under FILP, or ''zaito'' in Japanese, for the new fiscal year, which starts April 1, will total 15,004.6 billion yen, down from 17,151.8 billion yen under the initial fiscal 2005 plan.
Japan to cut defense budget 0.9% in FY 2006, down for 4th year
December 19, 2005Japan's defense spending for fiscal 2006 will be cut by 0.9 percent, down for the fourth straight year, mainly through reducing spending on Cold War-type equipment to make way for increased outlays on missile defense and to offset high oil prices, according to a draft budget proposed by the Finance Ministry on Tuesday. The draft defense budget for the fiscal year beginning April 1 amounts to 4,813.7 billion yen, down 42.7 billion yen from the initial budget for the current fiscal year. The Defense Agency had requested a 1.2 percent increase to 4,885.7 billion yen. But the Finance Ministry proposed slashing expenditures for equipment such as tanks and upgrades for F-15 fighter jets, and reducing Ground Self-Defense Force personnel, in line with last year's new defense guidelines to move away from the Cold War defense model.
Japan's MOF presents 79.69 tril. yen draft budget for FY 2006
December 19, 2005The Ministry of Finance on Tuesday presented a 79,686.02 billion yen draft of the national budget for fiscal 2006, down 3.0 percent from the initial budget for the current year and making it the first time in eight years that it has fallen below 80 trillion yen. Spending cuts in broad policy areas and a projected growth in tax revenues for the year beginning next April would allow the government to limit the issuance of new government bonds to 29,973.00 billion yen, down 12.8 percent, and the lowest level in five years, the ministry said.
Bush makes live TV address from Oval Office to defend Iraq War
December 19, 2005U.S. President George W. Bush made a rare live TV address from the White House Oval Office on Sunday to defend the Iraq war, urging the American people to have ''patience'' and ''not give into despair.'' Summing up a series of his speeches on ''strategy for victory'' in Iraq over the past weeks to directly speak to Americans in a prime-time address, Bush also acknowledged the unexpected difficulties and growing public doubts about winning the war, while also taking the blame for starting it despite some faulty intelligence.
Ex-lawmaker, Tagawa Mayor Yoshitaka Takii dies at 90
December 19, 2005Yoshitaka Takii, a former lower house member who later became the nation's oldest mayor in 2003 in his hometown in Fukuoka Prefecture, died of a stroke at his home early Monday, his family said. He was 90. In 1953, he successfully ran for the House of Representatives on the then Socialist Party ticket and subsequently served four terms. During his time as a lawmaker, he helped implement a series of measures to promote coal mining areas.
S. Korean's Ban urges Japanese leaders to 'correct' history
December 19, 2005South Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Ban Ki Moon urged Japanese political leaders Monday to have a correct understanding of the past. ''I would like to remind Japanese political leaders to have a correct understanding of history and the will to carry it into practice,'' Ban said in a brief speech at a meeting of senior ministry officials, according to Yonhap News Agency.
Koizumi rules out consumption tax hike in FY 2007
December 19, 2005Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Monday the government will not raise the 5 percent consumption tax rate in fiscal 2007. ''Given the current fiscal conditions and progress in cutting expenditures, it is unlikely in fiscal 2007,'' Koizumi told reporters at his office, supporting the view that the controversial tax hike will not take place in the fiscal year starting April 2007.
Figure skating: Abe calls Asada's ineligibility to skate in Turin 'regrettable'
December 19, 2005Japan's top government spokesman on Monday described it as ''regrettable'' that Japanese teen figure skater Mao Asada will not be able to compete in the upcoming Winter Olympics because she is too young, despite her latest victory at the Grand Prix Final. ''If an athlete who earned the world's highest evaluation cannot appear (before the Olympic Games), that would be regrettable,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe told a press conference.