Mayor Fumiko Hayashi says Yokohama may be forced to reduce the budget for an IR bid in 2021 after the city revealed it expects to record a JPY97 billion (US$913 million) deficit in the 2021 financial year.
But it won’t be for lack of trying alternate options, with Hayashi stating at a press conference, “I want to pave the way. If it is necessary in the future, we will create as much of a budget as possible under the current financial circumstances.”
According to Yokohama city, the 2021 budget deficit will be a direct result of the COVID-19 pandemic. City tax revenue for the 2021 financial year is expected to experience a substantial decrease of JPY46 billion (US$433 million) compared to the initial budget for FY2020. The deputy mayor, Toshihide Hirahara, commented that the budget for FY21 represented a “crisis situation in times that are not normal.”
Mayor Hayashi explained at her regular press conference last week, “We will not stop all services, but we will cut back on extraneous costs in necessary items as we formulate the budget.”
When asked about the possibility of reducing the budget related to an IR bid and a new theater development that were included in the 2020 budget, she said, “We will consider the situation. I have told officials that I want to reduce where possible.”
