Let down by Japanese budget

Japan is saddled with debts of 400 trillion yen (US$3.46 trillion) incurred by the central and local governments, which means it shares with Italy the dubious distinction of being the most financially troubled of the industrially advanced nations. The reform of financial structures cannot be put off. Meanwhile, the tasks that await government action to raise the quality of life are overwhelming. Measures must also be taken to prepare for a society with an increasing proportion of the elderly.

This is no time for politicians and administrators to continue blindly down the routine route. Their inability to change course will drive the nation to ruin.

But what we have seen in the government's budget proposals for fiscal 1997 has been deeply disappointing. Parties, elected officials and bureaucrats behaved just as they have for years, as if there is no real urgency facing the nation. The public must be prepared to share the "pains" of the new age. For this reason, we should keep in mind the goals we have pursued -- politics for the benefit of the people and keeping watch on how tax money is used.

-- Asahi Shimbun, Tokyo