The government may scrap a plan to build a new headquarters for the Finance Ministry, which is now housed in a quake-vulnerable structure dating back to the war, three government officials said.
The government may instead spend around ¥16 billion to renovate the current building rather than pay about ¥58 billion to erect a high-rise, said one of the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person isn't authorized to talk to journalists. The five-story building, built in 1943, is at risk of collapsing if a large quake shakes the capital, according to a document on the ministry's website.
Abandoning the headquarters construction plan would underscore the government's need to save money to reduce a public debt twice the size of the economy and pay for rebuilding after the March 11 earthquake. The ruling Democratic Party of Japan has proposed selling the government's stake in Japan Tobacco Inc. to help fund the reconstruction.