The Tokyo Metropolitan Government will disclose all social expenses by the governor and other top officials from fiscal 1999, officials said Friday.
The metro government will disclose all information regarding expenses, such as the names of individuals and the metropolitan officials met as well as where the money was spent.
The only exception occurs in cases like a token gift of money to someone who was ill — where particular considerations would be needed for reasons of privacy — according to the officials.
Strict rules will also be applied to social expenses, officials said. The metropolitan government will no longer foot the bill for entertaining civil servants such as central government officials and lawmakers. Cash gifts for weddings and condolences for internal staff will also be abolished.
The measure is in line with a package of recommendations issued by a blue-ribbon advisory panel last July.
Tokyo government officials said they expect that by implementing the new steps, social outlays for fiscal 1999 will be halved from the current level of 70 million yen to 35 million yen.
"In drawing up the new standards, we paid particular attention on ensuring transparency for Tokyo citizens, so that they can judge whether expenses are appropriate," Gov. Yukio Aoshima told a regular news conference.