Japan launches DOGE-inspired office to cut budget waste
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Unveiling the initiative, Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said that “there is high public interest in reducing waste”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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TOKYO - Japan launched its own version of the US government’s infamous cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Nov 25 in a bid to ease concerns over a US$135 billion (S$176 billion) stimulus package.
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi pledged last week huge government spending to boost the economy, insisting it was fiscally responsible despite fears it would worsen the country’s colossal debt burden.
“Given the times we live in, fiscal sustainability is paramount… it is vital that the public can see we are consistently working towards it,” Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told a press briefing.
Unveiling the initiative she said was referred to as Japan’s DOGE, the minister said that “there is high public interest in reducing waste”.
Headed by Mr Elon Musk, DOGE in the United States
The Japanese team, however, will be made up of around 30 working government officials and will not aim to overhaul government organisations, Ms Katayama said.
The Office in Charge of Reviewing Special Tax Measures and Subsidies, as it is formally known, would review programmes with low policy impact, she added.
The initiative is part of a month-old coalition agreement between Ms Takaichi’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior partner, the Japan Innovation Party.
The office is expected to become fully functional in 2026, with its impact reflected in the budget for the fiscal year starting from April 2027, according to Ms Katayama.
Ms Takaichi has defended the 21.3 trillion yen (S$177 billion) stimulus package that her government approved last week as it looks to kick-start growth in the world’s fourth-largest economy, ease the pain of inflation for households and restore the ruling party’s flagging popularity.
However, expectations that the new Premier would embark on a big spending spree have pushed yields on Japanese government bonds to record highs this week and put pressure on the yen. AFP
