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On November 27, Prime Minister and DPJ President Yukio Hatoyama addressed reporters. He commented on the yen’s sudden rise in the foreign exchange markets, where it had at one point reached levels of close to 85 yen to the dollar, saying, “Stable movements in the exchange rate are preferable, and I do not think that sudden shifts are desirable.” He added, “What is significant is that a strong yen is expected to deliver a severe blow to our export industry, and it will be necessary to consider economic measures to combat this, including the possibility of a supplementary budget.” Hatoyama stressed that while public finances were facing difficult conditions, he understood that there was public resistance toward endless issues of government bonds and increasing the burden of debt placed on future generations, and that it would be necessary to bear this in mind while creating effective policies to deal with the strong yen. He pointed out that “Basically, what is necessary is to transform the Japanese economy into a well-muscled machine.”
Hatoyama went on to refer to a comment made by Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan that “We will actively engage in generating new jobs by promoting new industries, and we would like to create measures that will be accepted by the public as well as meeting their expectations.” He expressed the opinion that it would in particular be necessary to reinforce measures that emphasised the environment, including those related to residential homes.
The project categorization process carried out by working groups under the authority of the Government Revitalisation Unit, which had taken place over 9 days, had recently come to an end, and Hatoyama gave his impressions of the process, saying “[The working group members] have made a great deal of effort. The enormous interest shown by the public is something that has been absent up until now. The way that proceedings have taken place so that the budget has taken on a visible form, and amid the close attention shown by the public is something that is worthy of praise.”
With regard to the budgetary cuts of 1.7 trillion yen said to have been achieved as a result of the process, Hatoyama stressed that “What is important is the content not the amount.” He referred to the debate scheduled to start on November 30 in the Government Revitalisation Unit, stating, “We are now called upon to make political judgements as to what is important as we go about totally reforming the shape of this country. I would like to create a budget that will use the precious assets of this nation to the full.”
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