Lawmakers representing opposition parties on Monday and Tuesday questioned Prime Minister Naoto Kan in the plenary session of each house of the Diet over his first general policy speech he made June 11. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has decided not to extend the current Diet session so that it can campaign for the July 11 Upper House election while the approval rating of the Kan Cabinet and the support rate for the DPJ are still high. Although the DPJ's decision has limited the length of time for questions and answers, the plenary sessions highlighted issues that will decisively affect voting in the Upper House election.
As for the state's financial reconstruction, Mr. Sadakazu Tanigaki, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party, characterized the DPJ's main campaign promises, including making expressways toll free, as "pork barrel spending" and said they will lead to "unrestrained swelling of fiscal spending."
Specifically, he proposed withdrawal of the DPJ's election manifesto, setting ceilings on budgetary requests and establishing spending cut goals for each spending area. These may serve as hints to how the state's financial reconstruction will be attempted, although Mr. Kan should not compromise on executing projects that have true social meaning. He did not disclose either a concrete long-term schedule to reduce the state's reliance on bond issuance or details of a planned tax reform.