In a departure from past practice, Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said Tuesday the government will draft next year's budget without receiving a set of proposals from a key advisory panel.
Fujii said the Democratic Party of Japan-led government does not find it necessary to have recommendations from the Fiscal System Council, because "there is now a new way" to draft the budget.
"Politicians will be responsible," Fujii said at a news conference, noting compilation of the budget will be handled by the Cabinet and newly established bodies, including the Government Revitalization Unit, launched by the DPJ to screen for wasteful spending.
The DPJ believes many existing government panels, made up of scholars and corporate executives, are simply representing the voices of the powerful bureaucracy instead of providing unbiased perspectives.