英字新聞

The Yomiuri Shimbun
Lavish budgetary handouts will not solve nation’s various problems
補正予算編成　バラマキで課題は解決しない

What is the purpose of a supplementary budget? The compilation of the envisaged budget must include efforts to fully examine its objective and its effectiveness.
　何のための補正予算なのか。その目的と効果を十分に吟味した編成が求められよう。

The government is working to draw up a supplementary budget for fiscal 2015, under instructions from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. The size of the budget will likely be somewhere in the first half of the \3 trillion range. The government will seek to shepherd the budget through the Diet after submitting it to an ordinary session of the legislature to be convened early in January.
　政府が、２０１５年度補正予算の編成作業を進めている。安倍首相が指示したもので、総額は３兆円台前半の見通しだ。年明けに召集される通常国会に提出し、成立を目指す。

The main pillars of the budget include emergency measures to realize “a society that will promote the dynamic engagement of all its citizens,” as well as steps aimed at addressing problems affecting the agricultural sector due to a broad agreement reached in multilateral talks over the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.
　「１億総活躍社会」を実現するための緊急対策や、環太平洋経済連携協定（ＴＰＰ）の大筋合意に伴う農業対策が柱となる。

Another main feature of the budget is a plan to establish more nursing facilities for elderly people, in pursuit of the goal touted by the Abe administration to ensure that no one has to quit their job to provide nursing care for a relative. It can be hoped that the plan, if translated into action at an early date, will produce even greater results.
　安倍政権が掲げた「介護離職ゼロ」に向けた介護施設の増設などは、早期に着手することで、より大きな効果が期待できよう。

The budget is also likely to include allocations for such policies as antiterrorism measures to be taken in preparation for the Ise-Shima summit of Group of Seven nations in May next year, and rehabilitation work to be carried out in areas that were struck by natural disasters. They can be understood as urgent budgetary appropriations.
　来年５月の主要国首脳会議（伊勢志摩サミット）のテロ対策や、災害復旧の費用なども、緊急を要する予算であると理解できる。

However, the budgetary content currently being studied by the government entails a considerable number of items open to question. Doubts can be raised about whether they truly need to be funded by the supplementary budget.
　しかし、政府が検討中の内容には、補正予算で手当てする必要が本当にあるのか、疑問が生じる項目が少なくない。

There are concerns that the budget may include policies that could be viewed as lavish government handouts, in the guise of trying to improve the quality of social security services and addressing problems arising from the TPP accord. Such policies may serve as a means of responding to requests from elderly people and regional communities in preparation for next summer’s House of Councillors election. Each item included in the budget must be rigorously assessed by closely examining its cost-effectiveness.
　来夏に参院選を控え、高齢者や地方の要望に応えようと、社会保障の充実やＴＰＰ対策に名を借りた、バラマキ的な政策が紛れ込まないか。費用対効果を精査し、厳しく査定すべきだ。

Why limited to elderly?

One typical example of such lavishness is a plan to pay about \30,000 in benefits per person to elderly people who receive low pension payments. The plan has been described as a measure to address the increasing burden felt by ordinary households as a result of a rise in the consumption tax rate and rising prices due to the depreciation of the yen.
　典型的なのは、年金受給額が低い高齢者に１人あたり３万円程度の給付金を支給する案だ。消費税率の引き上げや、円安による物価上昇で家計の負担感が増していることに対応する狙いだという。

The number of elderly people eligible for such government benefits will likely surpass about 10 million, with the necessary budgetary funding expected to total as much as \300 billion. However, such a one-time benefit program may prove to be limited in producing good results.
　対象者は、約１０００万人超に上り、総額３０００億円規模の予算が必要となるが、一時的な給付金では効果は限られよう。

First of all, it is difficult to understand why the persons covered by the benefit program will be limited to pension recipients at a time when a large number of young people who are working in non-regular jobs for low salaries are experiencing financial hardships.
　そもそも、低所得で生活が苦しい若い非正規労働者も多いのに、給付対象を年金受給者だけに限ることも理解に苦しむ。

We believe the government should thoroughly discuss measures to aid low-income members of the population within the social security policy framework − not just try to address pertinent issues on an ad hoc basis with the supplementary budget.
　補正予算で場当たり的に対応するのでなく、社会保障政策全体の中で、低所得者対策をしっかりと議論すべきではないか。

The budget is also expected to incorporate such TPP-related measures as plans to build and improve farm roads and carry out other land improvement projects. We doubt that our nation’s agricultural competitiveness will be increased only through efforts to add such conventional agricultural civil engineering projects to the existing ones. The boost to the economy will also be limited.
　ＴＰＰ対策では、農道整備などの土地改良事業が盛り込まれるとみられる。こうした従来型の農業土木事業を積み増しても、農業の競争力強化にはつながるまい。景気浮揚効果も限定的だ。

We believe importance should be attached to implementing measures aimed at supporting farmers who are willing to adopt a proactive stance regarding their agricultural operations. Specific steps include cultivating channels for overseas sales conducive to bolstering agricultural exports and developing new high value-added products.
　農作物の輸出を後押しする海外販路の開拓や、付加価値の高い新商品の開発など「攻めの農業」の支援策に重点を置きたい。

Fiscal resources necessary for the supplementary budget will be raised by using appropriations left unused under the fiscal 2014 budget and extra gains accrued from greater-than-expected tax revenue due to an economic recovery in fiscal 2015.
　補正予算の財源は、１４年度予算の使い残しと、景気回復で増えた１５年度税収の上振れ分で賄う。

We find it reasonable to avoid issuing new government bonds under the budget. In consideration of the nation’s critical fiscal condition, however, it should not be forgotten that the reasonable option for utilizing an unused portion of budgetary allocations is to set it aside to repay debts.
　新規国債の発行を回避するのは妥当だが、危機的な財政状況を考えれば、本来、余った予算は借金返済に充てるのが筋であることも忘れてはなるまい。

(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, Dec. 7, 2015)