The Finance Ministry's fiscal 2006 draft budget reveals changing priorities. Here's a sample of items slated to get more funding compared with the current fiscal year, and items that would get less:

What gets more

* Antiterror measures: 24.5 billion yen (up 4 percent)

* Steps to crack down on illegal immigrants: 3.8 billion yen (up 12 percent)

* Tourism promotion programs: 4 billion yen (up 6 percent)

* Emissions credit purchases under the Kyoto Protocol: 7.6 billion yen (up 13 percent)

* Space exploration: 180.1 billion yen (up 2 percent, first rise in six years)

* Preparations for introducing the "lay judge" system: 10.5 billion yen (up 530.7 percent)

* Measures to protect children from crime, including community watch programs: 8.4 billion yen (up 47.4 percent)

* Vaccinations and subsidies related to livestock epidemics: 3.7 billion yen (up 92.2 percent)

* Strengthening patrols of Japan's exclusive economic zone: 22.8 billion yen (up 57.2 percent)

* Railroad safety improvements: 5.7 billion yen (up 9.6 percent)

* Children's emergency medical care: 2.6 billion yen (up 30.8 percent)

* Subsidies to child-care centers: 298.3 billion yen (up 6.7 percent)

* Vaccines and prevention against epidemics, including influenza and STDs: 11.2 billion yen (up 40.9 percent)

* Centers to inspire NEETs (people not in employment, education or training) to find steady jobs: 5.3 billion yen (up 14.5 percent)

* Teacher salaries: 1.7 trillion yen (national burden) (down 4.4 billion yen)

* Government officials' salaries: down an average of 16 billion yen a year for the five years through fiscal 2010 (M.N.)