Economic ministers warn against pressure to boost gov't spending

Economic ministers on Friday warned against growing pressure from political circles to increase government spending for projects such as public works, expressing alarm about a possible return to pork-barrel politics.

''Politicians always tend to apply pressure to boost expenditures, but we have to discuss how to deal with fiscal burdens. Otherwise, increased spending could widen generational gaps'' in shouldering state debts, said economic and fiscal policy minister Hiroko Ota.

During the presidential election campaign of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to choose a successor to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, calls for an increase in state outlays so as to revitalize ailing regional economies are growing.

The government has already decided to cut public works spending by 3 percent from the previous year in its fiscal 2008 budget guidelines.

Ota told a press conference that the government will heed demands from the countryside in compiling detailed budget plans, but that the first priority will be implementing maximum cuts in outlays.

''If we cannot help boosting expenditures, we should present various options to the public together with data on burdens,'' she said.

Finance Minister Fukushiro Nukaga also said at a separate press conference that the government cannot tolerate easing fiscal discipline based on pork-barrel policies.

But he said the government can consider ways to narrow economic disparities between major cities and local areas in compiling the budget for the next fiscal year.