Japan Passes $1 Trillion Budget to Boost Economy

By HIROKO TABUCHI
Published: March 24, 2010

Haruyoshi Yamaguchi/Bloomberg News 

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, right, spoke withFinance Minister Naoto Kan at the upper house of parliament in Tokyo onWednesday as they worked to pass a budget.

In a striking reversal of the privatization efforts of previousadministrations, the government also said Wednesday that it wouldretain a significant stake in the country’s mammoth postal bankingsystem, keeping a tight grip on a financial conglomerate that has beenblamed for many for inefficiencies and distortions in Japan, which hasthe world’s second-largest economy.

The record budget, worth $1 trillion, for the fiscal year starting inApril will pay for Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s ambitious stimulusagenda, including cash handouts to households with young children, freetuition at public high schools and income support for farmers.

Mr. Hatoyama, who heads the Democratic Party, is looking to bolsterboth Japan’s economy, which has been hit by deflation, and his slumpingpopularity before important elections due this summer.

“Creating a virtuous circle in which a growth strategy spurs employmentand demand will help combat deflation,” Mr. Hatoyama said.

Recent data shows the Japanese economy is slowly emerging from itsworst recession since World War II, as a global recovery sets off arebound in exports, production and employment.

But some economists worry about runaway government spending in Japan,which is already saddled with a public debt twice the size of itseconomy — the worst ratio among industrialized countries. Thegovernment said it would issue a record ¥44 trillion in bonds tofinance the budget for next year and cover for a sharp shortfall in taxrevenue.

In January, the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s cut its outlookfor Japan’s sovereign rating, saying that Mr. Hatoyama appeared to haveno plan to start containing the country’s spiraling debt.

Japan’s fiscal largesse has long been supported by Japan Post, thecountry’s biggest customer for Japanese government bonds. A de-factogovernment guarantee on deposits made at the postal bank has attractedhuge funds: about ¥300 trillion, or more than the annual gross domesticoutput of France.

largesse  the act or quality of being generous with money; money that you give to people who have less than you 慷慨解囊；施捨；（給窮人的）錢，贈款

Those funds, in turn, made their way to pork-barrel public worksprojects across the country, like dams on virtually every major riverin Japan and mountainous roads to nowhere.

pork barrel   local projects that are given a lot of government money in order to win votes; the money that is used 分肥項目，分肥撥款（議員等為爭取選票而促使政府撥款給所屬地區的發展項目）

In an attempt to remedy the unhealthy flow of finances, the formerprime minister, Junichiro Koizumi, started a privatization drive. Undera plan spearheaded by Mr. Koizumi, Japan Post’s financial units were tobe freed from government control by 2017, a centerpiece of structuralchanges designed to forge a more market-oriented economy in Japan.

Though Mr. Koizumi’s plans appeared to enjoy public support at thetime, disastrous terms in office for his successors — and painfulrecession after the global economic crisis — have largely discreditedhis privatization agenda.

In August, Mr. Hatoyama cast Mr. Koizumi’s Liberal Democrats from powerin a landmark election that ended a half-century of almostuninterrupted governance in Japan. The new administration soon began areview of the postal privatization process.

A draft postal bill announced by the government Wednesday said that thestate would hold onto more than one-third of its shares in Japan Post —a stake that would give it the right to veto any changes to thecompany’s management.

The government also said it would double the limit on postal savingsdeposits to ¥20 million per customer from ¥10 million — a move thatcould suck even more funds from the Japanese economy. The move has alsoraised concerns that the huge state-affiliated entity could crowd outbusiness at private banks.

“Reversing postal privatization means grave distortions will remain inthe Japanese economy. The state will now be able to continue offloadingbonds to Japan Post, and that will encourage reckless governmentspending,” said Satoru Matsubara, a professor of economic policy atToyo University. .

“Private banks will also suffer from unfair competition,” he said.

But anti-market proponents within Mr. Hatoyama’s administration haveargued that privatizing Japan Post would lead to cutbacks in thefinancial services available in rural areas of Japan. For residents ofsome far-flung villages and tiny islands, the local post officeprovides the only access to banking services.

proponent  a person who supports an idea or course of action 倡導者；支持者；擁護者

Japan Post runs a network of 24,000 offices across the country supported by an army of 430,000 full- and part-time staff.

“Government involvement is necessary to make sure we provide universalservices,” Shizuka Kamei, the banking minister, said Wednesday. “Wewill be careful not to squeeze the public sector,” said InternalAffairs Minister Kazuhiro Haraguchi.

The government expects the postal overhaul bill to clear Parliament inJune and the changes to take place around April 2012, said KoheiOtsuka, the vice financial services minister.

Private banks criticized the government’s move.

“If the postal bank continues to operate as a government affiliate,there will be no level playing field,” said Katsunori Nagayasu,president of the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and head of the JapaneseBankers Association, which represents 124 banks across the country.

“As a fundamental rule, government enterprises should stick to supplementing the public sector,” Mr. Nagayasu said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/25/business/global/25yen.html?ref=business

家計支援へ子ども手当、自動車重量税減額

　２４日成立した２０１０年度予算には、鳩山政権の目玉施策である子ども手当をはじめ、さまざまな家計支援策が盛り込まれた。

　子ども手当は、中学卒業までの子ども１人当たり月額１万３０００円を支給する。６月には２か月分（４、５月分）が初めて支給される。以降は１０月、来年２月に４か月分ずつ支払われるが、具体的な支給日は、それぞれの市町村が定める。

　４月からは公立高校の授業料無償化も実施される。私立校は世帯の所得に応じて就学支援金（年１１万８８００～２３万７６００円）を学校設置者に支給し、世帯は授業料との差額を負担する。

　税制面では、４月から自動車購入時や車検更新時に納める自動車重量税が、現在０・５トン当たり６３００円が５０００円に減額される。民主党が政権公約に掲げていたガソリンの暫定税率廃止は見送られたが、３か月続けて１リットルあたり１６０円超となった場合、税率上乗せ分（約２５円）を減税する新たなガソリン高騰対策を導入する。

　一方負担増もある。医療充実を図るため診療報酬が１０年ぶりにアップし、４月から患者負担がやや増えるケースが出そうだ。

　１０月からは、たばこ１本当たり３・５円の増税となる。代表的なたばこ１箱の価格は３００円から４００円程度になる見通しだ。

　来年１月からは所得税の扶養控除のうち、１５歳以下の子どもを対象にした控除は廃止され、１６～１８歳の世帯を対象にした特定扶養控除も縮小される。

（2010年3月24日23時00分  読売新聞）



http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/atmoney/news/20100324-OYT1T01120.htm




January 1, 2010
從政治/金錢看日本史上最大預算案
顧問 陳鵬仁
 

日本民主黨政府於十二月二十五日，決定明年即二○一○年度的總預算案為九十二兆二千九百九十二億日圓，這是日本歷史上最大預算。因此將發行四十四兆三千三十億日圓的國債以應財政上之開支。這是戰後第一次國債之發行超過稅收之金額。這是要實行競選時之政治承諾所造成，所以我說這種作法具有政策買票的意味。
 
由此，日本的國債將達六百三十七兆日圓，這相當於日本國民每一個人「借款」四百九十九萬日圓（大約合一百九十萬台幣）。一般來說，一個國家的預算，要看稅收多少來決定。但民主黨以政治承諾為最優先考量。因此才不得不發行那麼多的國債。一年還國債要開支二十兆六千億日圓。長期這樣下去，國家財政永遠無法健全。所以在編列國家預算時，確保財源還是最重要。沒有財源，競選上說風涼話等於是買空賣空，這是破壞國家財政的作法，不能不慎。
 
民主黨政府之這樣的預算案，應該與明年夏天的參議院議員選舉有關係。目前的日本參議院，民主黨、社民黨、國民新黨的聯合政府之席數過半。如果多數選民覺得民主黨政府的作為對他們和國家不利，可能投自民黨的票。萬一，民主黨聯合政府之席數未能過半，那就與自民黨、公明黨政府時代，眾議院過半，參議院不過半，許多法案在參議院通不過問題就大了。所以明年的參議院議員選舉非常重要。
 
現在我們來看看明年度日本國家預算的內容。
 
一般歲出五十三兆七千七百三十一日圓（增加 3.3%），其中社會保障二十七兆二千六百八十六億日圓（增9.8%），公共事業五兆七千七百三十一億日圓（減少9.8%），振興文教科技五兆五千八百六十億日圓（增5.2%），防衛四兆七千九百零三億日圓（增0.3%）。交付地方稅等十七兆四千七百七十七億日圓（增5.5%），還國債二十兆六千四百九十一億日圓（2%）。歲入：稅收三十七兆二千九百九十二億日圓（減少18.9%），稅收外收入十兆六千二億日圓（增15.8%），發行國債四十四兆三千三十億日圓（增33.1%），總預算（一般會計）為九十二兆二千九百九十二億日圓（增4.2%）。
 
這樣的國家預算，對於日本一般國民會有怎樣的影響呢？從明年六月起，對於初中畢業以前的小孩，每人每月將補助一萬三千日圓（大約五千台幣）。公立高中生將予免學費，私立高中生將補助大約十二萬日圓。一般薪水階級之保險費本人負擔一年將增加二百八十五日圓，這是小意思。加入年金者可以網路查閱紀錄。香煙，從明年十月起，一包將貴一百日圓左右。
 
高速公路之免費，將限定路線實施，以作為實驗。汽車之重量稅，譬如1.4頓之自用車，將便宜三千九百日圓。對於農戶，戶別所得補償制度，每0.1公畝補償一萬五千日圓。對於購買住宅之不課稅金額將增加到一千五百萬日圓。雇用保險之適用範圍，將由「六個月以上」，降為「三十一日以上」。
 
對於小孩的補貼，到底要不要限制其家庭的所得之多寡，至今沒有定論。但許多選民對於一個月一萬五千日圓的小孩補貼是小兒科。首相鳩山由紀夫的母親，每月補貼他一千五百萬日幣，讓許多選民很不滿。因為那麼多的補貼，鳩山之秘書才不得不用假名或死人的名字來分散政治捐款。
 
政治與金錢，在有定期選舉的民主國家，是永遠釐不清的難題。這是選舉政治永久脫不了的困境。日本政界，不管那一黨執政，都有大同小異的情況發生。政治與金錢可以說選舉政治的一體之兩面。
 
現在，我要更正十二月二十日本欄「日本民主黨政府為何大量發行國債」一文中，有一個筆誤，即第二段最後二行和一行之日本眾議員人數，目前其比例制為一百八十名，民主黨提議要減少八十名，若通過，其法定人數將為一百名。不過，我個人認為實現的可能性不大。
 
 
（本文刊載於99.01.01 民眾日報4版，本文代表作者個人意見）

http://www.npf.org.tw/post/1/6912

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