Maehara attacks Prime Minister, Cabinet regarding income disparities, BSE

On February 7, DPJ President Seiji Maehara continued with his questions in the House of Representatives budget committee, asking Prime Minister Koizumi and other Cabinet members for their opinions regarding widening social disparities and the problems surrounding the resumption of US beef imports.

At the start of his speech, Maehara produced a graph showing the upward trend in the number of irregular workers, and expressed the opinion that from the point of view of correcting salary disparities between regular and irregular employees, "the policy of ensuring in principle of the same pay for the same work should be announced as government policy.. Prime Minister Koizumi acknowledged the need to improve the treatment of irregular workers, saying, "As a government we will push employers to consider treatment [of employees]"

Furthermore, Maehara pointed out that the number of children receiving scholarship support is also increasing, and referred to problems occurring in educational establishments. He said that it was his impression that income redistribution policies were not working effectively, and ominous signs of the spread in disparities were showing up strongly, but Minister of Education Kenji Kosaka did not show any clear recognition of the problems and countermeasures needed. Maehara produced a graph that showed the mutual relationship between scholarship support rates and academic achievement and urged the government to acknowledge the situation being created in educational establishments by disparities, and to come up with ways to resolve this. Koizumi, in his reply, shifted the topic away from discussion of equal opportunities to academic performance, saying "We need policies that extend a helping hand to ensure that the opportunities for scholarships are not taken away due to difficult personal circumstances...[but] there is no need to be pessimistic and say that school grades are poor.. In response, Maehara reiterated the point at issue, and further pointed out that Japanese public expenditure for education as a proportion of GDP is the lowest amongst developed nations. He further expressed the opinion that a shift in the use of taxpayers' money to a focus on "investment in people", including budget distribution, should be considered.

Next, President Maehara raised the case of specified risk materials, which carry a higher risk of BSE, being found in a shipment of imported US beef and the subsequent reinstatement of the ban on US beef imports. He said that the Japanese Food Safety Commission, in the 'Conclusion' of its final report had stated "confirmation of the preconditions is the responsibility of the risk management authorities, and if the preconditions are not observed, the assessment results will differ" and further, in the "Additional Items" that "Should imports be resumed, we will take responsibility to ensure that the exporting country observes the export program.. He severely criticised the Japanese government for their view that "observation of inspections is not a condition for the resumption of imports" and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Shoichi Nakagawa, for his comment that the government had fulfilled its responsibility as the risk management authority by stopping the shipment in question at point of entry and halting imports, saying that such statements were simply twisting logic.

Maehara quoted a media interview given by a member of the Japan Food Safety Commission Prion Expert Committee, pointing out that when the commission had been consulted, the fact that the government would take responsibility for ensuring the program was observed had come up in discussions. Maehara said that not all meat-processing plants designated for exports to Japan had been inspected, and stressed the government should accept that "ensuring that the program is observed is the responsibility of the risk management authorities.. However, Nakagawa responded that "we are doing our utmost as the risk management administration" and refused to accept responsibility.

Maehara asked for the Prime Minister's opinion, and pointed out, "Only the government can undertake diplomatic negotiations with the US. If things were not done properly, that is also the responsibility of the Japanese government.. He ended his questions by harshly criticising Koizumi for his lack of leadership.