Barely a month on the job, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has yet to flesh out his reform blueprint. In this sense, he can be likened to a painter who has only just finished the outlines of a portrait. Now, however, he is about to draw a bold nose smack in the middle of the canvas. We refer to his determined attempt to overhaul the rigid system of use-specific tax revenues.

Mr. Koizumi's fiscal reform plan is still sketchy. In his maiden policy speech to the Diet, he pledged to limit annual bond issues to less than 30 trillion yen and then achieve a "primary" budget balance where bonds are issued only to service the outstanding debt. Now he is getting down to brass tacks: the ways in which the revenue budget is prepared.

He is talking about tax revenues that are pre-emptively earmarked for specified uses, notably road construction. These sources of income have often been criticized in the past for creating a rigid budget structure, but attempts to change them have flopped in the face of fierce resistance from legislators with close ties to interest groups.

Of course, Mr. Koizumi is fully aware of the political dynamics that caused that to happen. But he also knows that his reform efforts won't succeed unless "sacred cows" are left intact, and that reshuffling road-related taxes is an essential step toward budget reform. During a parliamentary exchange in the past week, he said he would spell out his position on this issue before July's Upper House election.

Not everything about use-specific taxes is bad. Perhaps the most important merit is that they can be used selectively to achieve specific policy objectives. The downside is that they can create a thicket of vested interests that are jealously protected, limiting the amount of discretionary tax revenues that can be used without strings attached.

No doubt Mr. Koizumi and Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa will face stiff resistance, not only from within their own party but also from business sectors involved as well as local governments with large construction budgets. But they must stick to their guns and fight back so that specific taxes can be used for a wider range of projects or, better still, with no strings attached. This will help to reduce, if not eliminate, nonessential or wasteful public-works projects.

The government budget estimates use-specified taxes for fiscal 2001 at roughly 7 trillion yen, including national and local taxes. Road taxes, including gasoline and vehicle-tonnage taxes, make up about 80 percent of such revenue -- which is used exclusively for road construction and repairs. The rest of the revenue -- which is set aside for other projects -- comes from the aircraft-fuel tax (airport construction and maintenance) and power-resources development and petroleum taxes (new-energy development).

The case for the free use of the road taxes, aside from budget reform, is that the nation's road network is already adequately developed. And regarding local airports, Shinkansen services are generally as efficient as jets. It is also doubtful whether new airports would attract enough passengers to turn profits. It is reported that some existing airports are having difficulty making ends meet, as are the Honshu-Shikoku bridges.

In short, use-specific taxes have already achieved their objectives. They should be used for other purposes, such as funding social-security programs. Or, as Mr. Shiokawa has suggested, they should go into environmental programs, such as promoting the use of fuel-efficient cars. The necessary legislative changes should be made promptly so that they can take effect with the fiscal 2002 budget.

Members of the Liberal Democratic Party have proposed that these revenues be used for urban renewal and infrastructure projects designed to ease traffic congestion in big cities. They have an ax to grind: winning over undecided urban voters in the upcoming election. These ideas need to be carefully considered because, if implemented in haste, they could widen the economic gap between urban and rural regions.

The bottom line is that the current uses of the specific taxes should be re-examined comprehensively both inside and outside the government. In particular, road taxes -- a major source of pork barrel for legislators backed by the construction industry -- needs a wholesale review. Strong public support for Prime Minister Koizumi is proof that the Japanese people want him to destroy old-style politics, which are flush with vested interests.

Forces opposed to a review -- including Liberal Democrats -- should know that they are going against the trend of the times. Even voters who once supported those legislators are beginning to have second thoughts. Such policies do not wash with the voters anymore, and politicians that continue to support them will suffer a public backlash in the next election.