Japan launches DOGE-inspired office to cut budget waste

Tokyo: Japan launched its own version of the US government s infamous cost cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Tuesday in a bid to e...

Tokyo: Japan launched its own version of the US government's infamous cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Tuesday in a bid to ease concerns over a $135-billion stimulus package.

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 Elon Musk, DOGE in the United States sent teams of tech experts to systematically dismantle and disrupt the nation's more than two million-strong civil service.