The government decided Nov. 9 to review state expenses related to U.S. forces in Japan, official development assistance and some other outlays earmarked for a fiscal 2010 state budget as part of its efforts to curtail wasteful use of taxpayers' money.

The government will re-examine wages for Japanese employees at U.S. bases in Japan

By reviewing some of the public works projects in the fiscal 2010 budget, the administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama will aim to trim the size of the budget by ¥3 trillion or more from record-high budgetary requests exceeding ¥95 trillion.

A list of the projects subject to the revision was unveiled following a Nov. 9 meeting of the Government Revitalization Unit, a new body set up by the Democratic Party of Japan-led government seeking to cut back on unnecessary public works projects and economic measures to rein in wasteful spending.