INTERVIEW: CDP Ready to Demand Elimination of "Unwise" Spending

Tokyo, Jan. 17 (Jiji Press)--The main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan is ready to demand that any "unwise" spending be cut from the government's fiscal 2025 budget proposal, which calls for general-account spending of more than 115 trillion yen, CDP leader Yoshihiko Noda has said in an interview with Jiji Press.

"It's a record-size budget proposal," Noda said in the interview on Thursday. "If there are unwise spending items, we will demand they be cut out."

Noda said his party will seek to reduce the overall budget amount while calling for revisions to realize measures such as free lunches at public elementary and junior high schools.

In the 150-day ordinary Diet session that begins next Friday, Noda said the CDP wants to find common ground between the ruling and opposition blocs through careful debate.

"Parties' performance in the ordinary session will directly affect (the results of) this summer's Tokyo metropolitan assembly election and House of Councillors election," he said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]