Nation bears “responsibility” to find funds to boost defense
18:32 JST, December 17, 2022
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida took a leading role in discussions on securing financial resources to drastically boost defense spending, positioning the amount and the way to secure funds as non-negotiable while referring to “Japan’s responsibility” to its ally, the United States, and friendly countries in Europe.
At a press conference on Friday, Kishida stressed that he wanted to present the tax hikes this year because “it is clear that the public will have to bear a burden in the future.” The prime minister said he “wanted to present [the policy] in good faith and in a straightforward manner.”
Two days prior to the press conference, Kishida held meetings behind the scenes with a veteran Diet member who was cautious about tax hikes.
“As the global security environment has worsened, Japan must also shoulder its fair share of the burden. The public needs to share the responsibility,” he told the member, according to sources.
Opposition to tax hikes had been growing during meetings of the LDP’s Research Commission on the Tax System.
The Diet member who met with Kishida on Wednesday were surprised by the prime minister’s “extraordinary determination.”
During a Japan-U.S. summit meeting in Phnom Penh on Nov. 13, Kishida told President Joe Biden that Japan would “increase security-related expenditures to a level equivalent to 2% of gross domestic product over the next 5 years,” effectively making it difficult to turn back. Kishida followed up on that promise on Nov. 28 when he announced plans to achieve the 2% target by fiscal 2027 and on Dec. 8 he instructed the government to consider measures to increase tax revenues by approximately ¥1 trillion in fiscal 2027.
However, criticism swirled within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party that Kishida had acted “too hastily.”
When discussions kicked off in the party’s Research Commission on the Tax System, Kishida met separately with commission chair Yoichi Miyazawa, a member of the prime minister’s party faction, and former LDP Secretary General Akira Amari, a senior member of the commission, in an attempt to find common ground.
Eventually, an agreement was reached in which the timing of the hikes was left unspecified in the ruling party’s tax reform guidelines, which state the measures will be implemented at an “appropriate time” after 2024.
Although some opponents of the hikes saw the agreement as a win, a senior official of the Finance Ministry said: “There was no plan to raise taxes next fiscal year in the first place. The statement about the timing is within the scope of expectations.”
A source close to the prime minister said: “[the outcome] scores higher than 9/10. We hope to put a lid on the issue and submit a bill by next summer. We can now hold our head high in the international community.”
"Politics" POPULAR ARTICLE
-
Presidential Race for Japan’s LDP Hinges on ‘Change’; Younger Politicians Prepare to Jump In
-
Ishiba Favored by Older Voters, Koizumi by Young in LDP Presidential Race, Says Poll
-
Japan’s LDP Presidential Candidates Time Announcements of Runs; Better to Gain Attention Now or Quietly Build Support?
-
Japan’s Ishiba Announces Final Bid for LDP President; Ishiba Vows to Establish LDP that Will ‘Abide by the Rules’
-
Japanese Government Tells Australia of Willingness to Cooperate in Building Warships; New Model Based on Mogami-Class Frigate
JN ACCESS RANKING
- Nankai Trough Megaquake Tsunami could Hit in 2 Minutes; Japan Authorities Urge Caution after Recent Earthquake
- Typhoon Shanshan Forms, Slowly Moves Toward Japan; Govt Says Typhoon No. 10 Likely to Approach Japan Next Week
- Typhoon Ampil Approaching Japan
- Shizuoka Pref. City Offers Foreigners Free Japanese Language Classes; Aims to Raise Non-Natives to Daily Conversation Level
- Tokyo Companies Prepare for Ashfall From Mt. Fuji Eruption; Disposal Of Ash, Possibly at Sea, A Major Challenge