Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Wednesday he will no longer charter flights for overseas trips after being criticized by an opposition lawmaker for wasting public funds.
"I will not use them any more," he told a session of the House of Councilors Financial Affairs Committee after being questioned about the necessity of chartering a flight to Paris in February to attend a meeting of the financial chiefs of the Group of Seven major economies.
Hiroshi Watanabe, head of the Finance Ministry's International Bureau, said that 11 ministry officials, including Shiokawa, chartered the jumbo jet to Paris. The return flight carried 17 people, including Bank of Japan officials.