Government to review expenses tied to U.S. military

The government decided Monday to review expenses related to U.S. forces in Japan and some other outlays earmarked for the fiscal 2010 budget as part of its efforts to curtail wasteful use of taxpayers' money.

By reviewing some public works projects, the administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will aim to trim the 2010 budget by ¥3 trillion or more from record-high funding requests exceeding ¥95 trillion.

A list of the projects subject to the revision was unveiled following a meeting of the Government Revitalization Unit, a new body set up by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government seeking to cut back on unnecessary public works projects and economic measures to rein in wasteful spending.

"We will review them and leave no protected areas," Hatoyama said at the meeting, which was attended by Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii and Naoto Kan, in charge of national strategy, as well as other Cabinet ministers.

Among other expenses to be reviewed are health care funding, local allocation taxes, expenses for large-scale research and development projects, and expenses for administrative agencies.

Members of the unit and government officials will sort the projects into four categories — "unnecessary," "should be transferred to local municipalities," "should be improved" and "should be continued."

On U.S. military-related expenses, the government will re-examine pay for working at U.S. bases.

Hatoyama said prior to the meeting that the review must be conducted without affecting the Japan-U.S. relationship, which appears to be fraying amid the row over where to relocate the U.S. Futenma air base, which is now in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture.

Under agreements with Washington, Tokyo in the name of host nation support covers part of the expenses for U.S. troops stationed in Japan, such as construction of their residences and utility costs, and pays the salaries of Japanese who work at the military bases.

The administration is aiming to finish formulating the budget for fiscal 2010, which starts April 1, by the end of December. It has been behind compared with usual years due to the recent change of government.