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Speech on Fiscal Policy by Minister of Finance Aso at the 190th Session of the National Diet

January 4, 2016


Before requesting deliberation on the draft supplementary budget for FY2015, I would like to provide an outline of it.

(Opening remarks)
The Japanese economy is in the process of overcoming deflationary stagnation as a result of initiatives so far conducted by the Abe Cabinet.
Now is the time to tackle the structural issue of the declining birthrate and aging population. In order to do so, we will focus on policies directly linked to the "Desirable Birthrate of 1.8" and "No One Forced to Leave Their Jobs for Nursing Care". At the same time , we will consolidate the path to realize a "Robust Economy" while appropriately dealing with the risk of an economic downturn. Based on these perspectives, we have adopted the "Urgent Policies to Realize a Society in Which All Citizens are Dynamically Engaged."

 

   In October last year, an agreement has been made in principle on the TPP(Trans-Pacific Partnership) negotiations. We must truly forge a direct link between the benefits of the TPP and the economic revitalization and regional vitalization and also dispel the concerns of the Japanese people over the effects of the TPP. Based on these perspectives, we have decided the "comprehensive TPP-related policy framework." 

(Summary of the FY2015 Supplementary Budget)
With respect to the supplementary budget, we have allocated necessary funds to policy measures which are highly necessary and urgent while firmly maintaining the fiscal consolidation targets. 

With regard to expenditures, we have allocated around 1,160 billion yen for expenses related to "Urgent policies to realize a society in which all citizens are dynamically engaged, etc." and around 340 billion yen for expenses related to "Measures toward realizing TPP-related comprehensive policy framework". We have also allocated funds for expenses related to "Recovery from natural disasters/prevention and mitigation" and "Accelerating reconstruction, etc.", and then, these additional expenditures total around 3,500 billion yen. In addition, necessary supplementary measures are planned, such as increasing local allocation tax grants and reducing previously approved expenses.

As for revenues, in addition to an increase in tax revenue of around 1,900 billion yen and a decrease in non-tax revenue of around 350 billion yen, we have included a surplus fron the previous fiscal year of around 2,210 billion yen. Furthermore, from the perspective of achieving fiscal consolidation, we will utilize around 440 billion yen to reduce government bond issues.

As a result, the general account budget for FY2015 will increase from the initial budget by around 3,320 billion yen for both revenues and expenditures, amounting to around 99.66 trillion yen in total.

Necessary supplementary measures are also planned for the special account budget.

Next, with respect to the Fiscal Investment and Loan Program, we have added a total of about 40 billion yen in fiscal loan. 

(Concluding remarks)
This concludes my explanation of the outline of the draft supplementary budget for FY2015.
I hereby request that the Diet deliberate on this supplementary budget and promptly give its approval.