, commonly referred to by a term which literally translates to , is a set of policy guidelines used by the Japanese government to draft policy on economic and fiscal management. First proposed by the Liberal Democratic Party in 2001, it is formulated annually by the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy. The initiative was abandoned by the

Democratic Party of Japan The was a centristThe Democratic Party of Japan was widely described as centrist: * * * * * * * to centre-left liberal or social-liberal political party in Japan from 1998 to 2016. The party's origins lie in the previous Democratic ...

in 2010, but revived in 2013 under the

Shinzō Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

's administration.

Background

Before 2001, the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and Ec ...

exercised a strong influence over the compilation of the budget. The 86th Japanese Prime Minister,

Yoshirō Mori is a former Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan between April 2000 and April 2001. He was unpopular in opinion polls during his time in office, and is known for making controversial statements, both during and after his ...

, established the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP), modelled on the American Council of Economic Advisers, in January 2001 to strengthen the

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

’s power over economic and

fiscal policy In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government revenue collection (taxes or tax cuts) and expenditure to influence a country's economy. The use of government revenue expenditures to influence macroeconomic variab ...

. The council has up to 11 members, including the Minister of State for Economic and Fiscal Policy and the Governor of the Bank of Japan. It is chaired by the Prime Minister, with four or more independent financial experts. Outside experts are expected to give the council opinions that are not affiliated with the government. It also gives ministers and specialists an opportunity to be more influential in shaping economic policy.

History

At the end of February 2001, the CEFP proposed the creation of a as a step towards reforming the budget. This garnered opposition from the Ministry of Finance, concerned that the plan would be too detailed and ineffective. After Mori's resignation, his successor

Junichiro Koizumi Junichiro Koizumi (; , ''Koizumi Jun'ichirō'' ; born 8 January 1942) is a former Japanese politician who was Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2001 to 2006. He retired from politics in 2009. He is ...

adopted the outline and proposed the first ''Honebuto-no hōshin'' (literally "big-boned policy") statement in June 2001. The ''Honebuto-no hōshin'' was designed to change the basic structure of politics, expressly in relation to the budget. Koizumi aimed at giving credibility to the contents of the budget. In Japan, the Ministry of Finance decides on a budget bill, traditionally reflecting the stance of the party in government. Koizumi considered this method inadequate to combat Japan's chronic deflation and wanted accountability to rest not primarily with government officials but rather with the members of the National Diet, the representatives of the Japanese people. Therefore, this policy agenda was put forward in 2001 by the Koizumi government. ''Honebuto-no hōshin'' is a policy term used by the Liberal Democratic Party, and was not used to describe the policies of the

, which was in power from 2010 to 2012. It has been amended since then and, after a brief hiatus,

's government announced a new ‘Honebuto-no hōshin’ in 2013. Major laws proposed by the Liberal Democratic Party have been discussed as part of the policy, for example, postal service privatization in 2001 and the trinity reform in 2003. The policy has had a strong influence on

Abenomics refers to the economic policies implemented by the Government of Japan led by the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since the December 2012 general election. They are named after Shinzō Abe, who served a second stint as Prime Minister of Japa ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Honebuto no hoshin 2001 establishments in Japan 2010 disestablishments in Japan 2013 establishments in Japan Politics of Japan Government finances in Japan Economy of Japan