The ¥17.1 billion requested for hosting next November's Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Yokohama should be pared by 20 percent, a key government body tasked with cutting wasteful spending said Tuesday, calling the estimate inflated.
Members of the Government Revitalization Unit said the requested amount for facility usage, food costs and accommodating leaders attending the event is way above the actual cost.
Their remarks came during during an open-door review session as the group started its second round of scrutinizing government projects.
By reviewing about 450 public works projects listed in the fiscal 2010 budget, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's government aims to trim the size of the budget by ¥3 trillion or more from record-high requests exceeding ¥95 trillion.
The screening unit also said it wants to scrap plans for a new Defense Ministry education facility designed to train personnel taking part in U.N. peacekeeping operations.
It also said funds for public relations and recruiting projects for the Self-Defense Forces should be cut.
The unit said the costs for Japan's hosting the 10th session of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya next October should be cut by 20 percent.
The screening is being conducted by lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and private-sector experts, including professors, researchers and economists. The operation will continue until Friday.
The DPJ won last summer's election after pledging to rein in wasteful administrative work and use taxpayer money more efficiently. It is also looking for ways to finance the spending packages it promised during the campaign.
The unit's recommendations are not binding.
