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On April 2, the Diet Affairs chiefs of the DPJ, the Japanese Communist Party, the Socialist Party and the People’s New Party held a meeting inside the Diet building to discuss their response to forthcoming Diet business.
After the meeting, DPJ Diet Affairs Committee Chair Kenji Yamaoka gave a press conference, in which he revealed that the Diet Affairs chiefs had discussed their response to a variety of issues, including legislation relating to the establishment of a Consumers Agency, legislation concerning the response to piracy, and moves to allow tax revenues earmarked for road construction and improvement to be used for other purposes. Regarding the supplementary budget he said, “Basically, we will decide our response once [the budget] has been submitted”. He went on to say that the opposition parties had agreed to what the government had described as the “three-stage rocket” of the first and second supplementary budgets for fiscal 2008, and the budget for fiscal 2009, without using delaying tactics, since this legislation contained aspects that would assist the lives of the Japanese people, but that despite this fact, immediately following the approval of this legislation the government had launched a “fourth rocket” consisting of a supplementary budget for 2009. He said that the opposition parties were in agreement that this was “not what had been agreed.”
Yamaoka said that the consensus at the meeting was that “If economic recovery cannot be achieved through the three-stage rocket, then there should be a change of government.” He went on to announce that the DPJ had established five research teams to investigate why economic recovery was not visible. He pointed out that there would be “no change in established practices while the current administration is in office,” and said that these included diplomatic “gifts” and practices stemming from the requests of various ministries under the current vertically-organised administrative structure. Yamaoka said that the teams would thoroughly investigate how taxpayers’ money was being used, and that they would reveal that tax money which should be being used for the sake of the public is in fact being used by ministries and their respective “zoku” Diet members. He stressed that it was necessary to fundamentally change the situation in which tax monies are being wasted by each ministry to their own advantage.
Yamaoka added that if the people were to entrust the reins of government to the DPJ, it would be possible to implement measures under which such money would be directed toward people’s daily lives. He stressed, “The supplementary budget for fiscal 2009 is meaningless, and carrying out a change of government should be the main prerequisite.” He added that if the government were to submit such a supplementary budget, the DPJ would study the contents based on the policy of “Putting People’s Lives First”, and engage in thorough debate.
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