TOKYO, Nov. 16, 2009 (Kyodo News International) --
(Editors: ADDING INFO)
A government panel on cutting wasteful spending sought Monday to freeze grants for debt-laden Kansai International Airport until a new bailout plan is worked out, as part of the panel's intensive efforts to identify waste in ministries' budget requests for fiscal 2010.
On the fourth day of its nine-day, open-door scrutiny of the requests, which started last Wednesday, the Government Revitalization Unit also screened in three working groups projects in the welfare, education and agricultural fields as it addressed 24 items on Monday.
Instead of the proposed 16 billion yen in grants to help lower the high landing fees at the struggling Osaka Prefecture-based airport, which is burdened with more than 1 trillion yen in interest-bearing debt, the panel said fundamental demand-boosting measures should be devised, such as a review of role sharing among the Kansai region's three airports.
The proposal, however, drew a mixed reaction, with Senior Vice Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Sumio Mabuchi saying the ministry will continue to request that the Finance Ministry earmark funds for the grants in the year starting April.
Kansai International Airport Co. President Shinichi Fukushima expressed disappointment with the panel's verdict, while Osaka Gov. Toru Hashimoto said it would be good for the Kansai region in the long run.
The panel, comprising lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and outside experts, also called for the cutting of around 10 percent of the transport ministry's 42.5 billion yen request for projects to maintain local airports.
The ministry's 6.7 billion yen request for anti-noise and other improvement projects in areas around airports would also be cut by 10 to 20 percent, the panel said.
In the area of education, the panel proposed cutting 300 million yen in requested subsidies for retraining teachers when they renew their licenses by one-third to a half in view of the policy of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government to scrap the license renewal system.
The panel also said the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology's 2 billion yen vocational education program should be delegated to local governments and its 1 billion yen request for moral education should be cut by one-third to a half.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry's 300 million yen request to run career counseling rooms for the elderly should be scrapped due to scarce utilization and duplication with public job-placement offices, the panel said.
The Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry's 101.5 billion yen request to maintain fishing ports and other fishery infrastructure should be cut by 10 percent, it said.
The panel cited the farm ministry's 1.7 billion yen request and the education ministry's 500 million yen request, both for dietary education, as examples of ministry sectionalism and urged both to be slashed.
In accepting the welfare ministry's program to support tours of children's plays, the panel said there should be coordination with the Cultural Affairs Agency to avoid duplication.
The welfare ministry's 300 million yen request for training elderly care managers should be halved and its 400 million yen program to train elderly care counselors should be delegated to local governments, the panel said.
