The government is renovating its buildings using at least 12 billion yen ($150 million) in funds initially intended to reconstruct areas devastated by last year’s earthquake and tsunami, The Asahi Shimbun has found.
The government is renovating its buildings using at least 12 billion yen ($150 million) in funds initially intended to reconstruct areas devastated by last year’s earthquake and tsunami, The Asahi Shimbun has found.
Although the money used by the government in fiscal 2011 and 2012 is for disaster preparedness, many of these projects involve facilities far from the stricken Tohoku region, where workers continue to struggle strengthening schools and rebuilding entire communities.
Moreover, the 12 billion yen was used by just one government ministry and one agency. All central government ministries and agencies are requesting nearly 1 trillion yen for similar renovation projects and other programs in fiscal 2013, which starts in April.
“Learning lessons from the Great East Japan Earthquake, we are renovating the government’s facilities in line with the basic reconstruction policy that we must implement necessary measures in a hurry,” said an official of the land ministry, which manages many government facilities throughout Japan.
But not everyone in government agrees with such spending.
Tatsuo Hirano, state minister in charge of disaster management, has already instructed the Finance Ministry to investigate those projects.
“I cannot help but have doubts on whether some of the projects are really appropriate for the use of the budget for reconstruction projects,” Hirano said.
The Lower House Committee on Audit and Oversight of Administration is also demanding a government investigation.
According to budget-related documents obtained by The Asahi Shimbun, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism plans to spend about 10 billion yen in fiscal 2011 and 2012 for such renovation work. The newspaper also discovered that the National Tax Agency under the Finance Ministry compiled plans to use about 2 billion yen for the same purposes.
The government set up a special account to spend 19 trillion yen over five years to reconstruct areas in northeastern Japan affected by the magnitude-9.0 earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11 last year.
Of that amount, 1 trillion yen was set aside for projects throughout the country to prepare for future natural disasters. According to the government’s basic policies for reconstruction formulated in July 2011, ministries and agencies can use this money outside the Tohoku region on disaster preparedness projects, such as strengthening the quake-resistance capabilities of buildings.
The land ministry has spent some of this money at around 90 locations throughout the country, including the No. 4 and No. 7 central government buildings in Tokyo’s Kasumigaseki district, as well as buildings in the Kansai and Kyushu regions.
Much of the work involves reinforcing outer walls and other parts to meet the latest quake-resistance standards. But some projects are being conducted to repair elevators or install solar power generation systems at government buildings.
The National Tax Agency is using its share of the funds to improve tax office buildings in 12 locations, including the Arakawa Tax Office and Musashino Tax Office, both in Tokyo.
“Many taxpayers visit our offices. In order to secure their safety, we have to strengthen the quake-resistance capabilities of our buildings,” said an official of the tax agency.
While the work continues smoothly at the government buildings, efforts to rebuild have been slow in many disaster-hit communities in the Tohoku region
In fiscal 2011, the government earmarked about 15 trillion yen for projects in the affected areas.
However, criticism has arisen that the necessary funds are not reaching certain needy areas, and a shortage of workers and engineers has hampered projects to strengthen school buildings and other facilities. Local governments have cited the cumbersome yet required procedures as the reason for delays in other projects.
As a result, 40 percent of the 15 trillion yen has yet to be used.
In contrast, the 1 trillion yen earmarked for disaster preparedness projects over five years was mostly used up by autumn this year.
Ministries and agencies are requesting an additional 900 billion yen in the fiscal 2013 budget for renovations and improved quake-resistance of government’s facilities, including public housing, and the construction or strengthening of embankments.
The land ministry is seeking 5.7 billion yen for these renovation projects for next fiscal year, while the tax agency is requesting 300 million yen for the work, which includes strengthening the Himeji Tax Office in Hyogo Prefecture.
However, if the ministries and agencies seek such a huge overall amount of funds for projects across the nation, the budget for the Tohoku region could be reduced.
Deputy Prime Minister Katsuya Okada said in a news conference on Oct. 5 that the Government Revitalization Unit will investigate the appropriateness of some of the current projects.
“If the money does not go to the affected areas sufficiently, such a situation is like ‘putting the cart before the horse,’” Okada said.