PM Murayama announces five-year deregulation plan<\/p>\n
TOKYO (AFP): Japan's Prime Minister Tomiichi Murayama
\nannounced yesterday a five-year plan to advance measures already
\ntaken to deregulate the economy while vowing to achieve tax
\nreforms by the end of the year.<\/p>\n
But Murayama, who took office three weeks earlier as Japan's
\nfirst socialist prime minister in four decades, gave no
\nindication of how his three-party coalition would finance tax
\ncuts implemented by previous governments.<\/p>\n
Outlining the policies of his government, an unprecedented
\nalliance between conservatives and socialists, the new prime
\nminister told parliament that economic recovery -- including
\nimplementing the budget and stabilizing currency markets -- would
\nbe the \"primary focus\" of economic management.<\/p>\n
\"While there is still serious concern about employment and the
\nplight of small businesses, concern that is compounded by the
\nyen's appreciation, there have recently been increasing signs of
\npromise,\" he said.<\/p>\n
\"We will, of course, move quickly to advance the deregulation
\nmeasures announced recently,\" the prime minister said. But he
\nadded that he was also \"determined to go beyond those measures
\nand to draw up a five-year deregulation action program and to
\nimplement even further deregulation.\"<\/p>\n
Objectives<\/p>\n
Murayama said the objectives of such a program would include
\nencouraging new businesses and improving Japanese purchasing
\npower by narrowing the big gap in prices between Japan and
\noverseas.<\/p>\n
Describing Japan's bureaucracy as \"over-compartmentalized\",
\nMurayama also vowed to undertake \"forceful administrative
\nreform\", one of the key policies of the previous two coalition
\ngovernments over the past year.<\/p>\n
Such reforms would include reviewing the entire public service
\nsystem, streamlining special corporations, achieving
\n\"appropriate\" staffing levels, monitoring deregulation and
\ndisclosing more government information.<\/p>\n
Murayama, whose socialist party strongly opposed the
\nintroduction of a three percent consumption tax five years ago,
\nsaid fiscal reforms needed to focus on achieving a balance
\nbetween income, asset and consumption taxes.<\/p>\n
\"Along with seeking to promote administrative and fiscal
\nreform and to ensure than the tax burden is equitably shared, I
\nwill work ... to promote discussion of comprehensive reform and,
\nseeking the understanding of the people, to achieve tax reforms
\nby the end of the year,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Murayama said such discussions would be in the context of
\nincome tax cuts next year and beyond, but made no mention of how
\nthe cuts would be financed.<\/p>\n
In February, the coalition government of prime minister
\nMorohiro Hosokawa adopted an economic stimulus package worth
\n15.25 trillion yen (US$152 billion), including tax cuts amounting
\nto 5.85 trillion yen.<\/p>\n
Murayama's socialist party, the biggest party in the
\ncoalition, had earlier forced Hosokawa to abandon plans to
\nintroduce a new \"welfare tax\" of seven percent, effectively
\namounting to a hike in the consumption tax.<\/p>\n
The finance ministry, which opposes paying for tax cuts with
\nincreased bond issues, said the new tax would have raised 9.5
\ntrillion yen a year.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/pm-murayama-announces-five-year-deregulation-plan-1447893297",
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