The government plans to include funds for multiyear "model" projects in the fiscal 2004 budget, Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Tuesday.
The unspecified projects are aimed at boosting the flexibility of the budget by allowing for the allocation of funds on a multiyear basis rather than for a single year.
"The Finance Ministry plans to pursue the idea of model projects aggressively," Shiokawa told reporters. "I have asked the ministries to come up with ideas by the time of the budget request (in August)."
Shiokawa added, however, that the ministries should not use the projects as an excuse to request more funds, saying any project plan should include targets that can be used for strict evaluation.
Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka said at a separate news conference that the Cabinet Office will brief other ministries and agencies on the plan in the near future.
"We want to have an opportunity to explain the model projects and exchange views with other ministries," Takenaka said.
The introduction of the projects will be a step toward establishing a budget compilation process based on "declaration, execution and evaluation," Takenaka said.
Reform of the budget compilation process is one of seven reform areas designated in an economic blueprint for 2003.
The blueprint, the third of its kind since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took office in April 2001, was adopted Friday.