Minister Ibayashi’s Press Conference
Overview
Reporters asked Minister Yanagi about the content, number, timing, and departments involved in inquiries about allocation results; whether inquiries were made before budget amounts were decided for two municipalities; and why road budgets for Nasukarasuyama City and Nakagawa Town were reduced. The minister said he planned to compile and publish later today responses to the main points raised at the previous press conference, including the scope of the review. He explained that grant allocations are determined by considering local government requests, project progress, and whether projects qualify for priority allocation, among other factors, within a limited budget. He said officials had reported that no road budget cuts had occurred in the manner described in the reported remarks. He declined to comment on remarks concerning individual politicians’ political activities and said he would explain the allocation method.
Key points
- The minister said he planned to publish later today responses to the main points raised at the previous press conference.
- He said grant allocations take into account local government requests, project progress, and whether projects qualify for priority allocation, among other factors.
- He said he had been informed that no road budget cuts had occurred in the manner described in the reported remarks.
- He said he would refrain from commenting on remarks concerning individual politicians’ political activities.
Overview
Reporters asked about the content, number, timing, and departments involved in inquiries concerning allocation results; whether inquiries were made before budget amounts were decided for two municipalities; and the reasons for road budget reductions.
Reporters asked which departments conducted the planned review, what it covered, whether it included the former minister and senior parliamentary vice-ministers, and what grounds supported a decision made before the review was completed. The minister said responses to these and other main points would be included in the planned publication.
Details
The minister explained that allocations of the Social Infrastructure Development Comprehensive Grant take into account local government requests, project progress, and whether projects qualify for priority allocation, among other factors, within a limited budget. He also said he intended to explain the allocation method clearly.
Reporters asked why grants to Nasukarasuyama City and Nakagawa Town included road budget reductions, and whether there were many other cases in which allocations were cut by at least 50% year over year. The minister did not provide individual reasons or a general frequency at the time, and asked for time to prepare the planned explanation.