Hatoyama pledges to save the lives of the people in policy speech
TOKYO 30-1-20010
Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama delivered a policy speech at the plenary sessions of both chambers of the Diet on Friday, underscoring the importance of protecting the lives of the people through policy measures.
"I want to protect the lives, the lives of the people," Hatoyama said at the outset of his speech. He used the term "life" on a total of 24 occasions throughout the address.
Labeling the fiscal 2010 budget draft a "life-saving" one, Hatoyama said, "We've been able to work out a well-balanced budget thanks to the change of administration (in September last year)."
Regarding the planned relocation of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Hatoyama reiterated his promise to make a final decision on a relocation site by the end of May. He also emphasized that the government will deepen and develop the Japan-U.S. alliance into a multilayered one on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the current Japan-U.S. Security Treaty, apparently out of concerns with the touchy bilateral relations over the relocation issue.
Quoting India's Mahatma Gandhi, Hatoyama said the "Seven Deadly Sins" that Gandhi advocated against, including "politics without principle" and "commerce without morality," precisely apply to the various issues that Japan and the world face today.
"Our Cabinet's mission is to develop the economy into one that can bring about human happiness, where we human beings are not servants of the economy," the prime minister said.
Citing the features of the fiscal 2010 budget draft, including the creation of child-care allowances and a revision to medical remunerations, Hatoyama proudly called the draft a "life-saving budget." He also said the government will "implement relentless economic stimulus measures" to prevent the nation's economy from sinking into a double-dip recession.
Calling job security a "pressing issue," Hatoyama promised that the government will work toward creating a new labor market by encouraging growth in various fields, from environment and energy to medicine, nursing care and health. The government will also recognize activities by citizens and non-profit organizations as a new sector of "pubic services," the prime minister said.
Turning to measures to restore sound finance, the prime minister said the government will work out multiple-year economic goals during the first half of 2010. The government will also implement the second round of cost-cutting measures through screening unnecessary projects, including the realignment of the government's special account, while making a drastic review of the central government reform plan this summer at the earliest at the prime minister's initiative.
Hatoyama avoided mentioning "an equal Japan-U.S. relationship," which he emphasized during his first policy speech at the Diet in October last year. Instead, he asserted that an unwavering Japan-U.S. alliance is essential as a precondition for realizing his pet concept of an East Asian Community.
The premier reiterated an apology over his funding scandal, saying, "I have caused a lot of trouble and concerns to the public." However, he didn't mention a funding scandal involving DPJ Secretary-General Ichiro Ozawa's fund-raising body Rikuzan-kai.
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