Japanese Government to Compile Supplementary Budget to Tackle High Prices

The Yomiuri Shimbun

13:44 JST, September 14, 2023

The government plans to compile a supplementary budget plan for the current fiscal year with the aim of tackling soaring prices, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Wednesday.

Speaking at a press conference at the Prime Minister’s Office, Kishida flagged the following points, among others, as priorities: measures to deal with the economy, steps to address the declining birth rate, digital policies, and diplomatic- and security-related initiatives.

Referring to the economic measures, Kishida said the government would finalize the supplementary budget proposal in October after outlining a general framework in the near future.

The government intends to submit the proposal to the extraordinary Diet session this fall. “We’ll draw up economic measures that include drastic steps and implement them as soon as possible,” Kishida said.

Touching upon the nation’s declining birth rate, the prime minister said the government would submit a bill to the ordinary Diet session next year to realize “a different level of measures to combat the fall in births,” with a view to expanding child allowances and other measures. “I see the time up until 2030 as the last chance to turn around the declining birth rate,” he stressed.

On digital policy, Kishida called for “leveraging digital [endeavors] to expand local economies, while altering administrative and fiscal systems at the national and local government levels.” He also outlined a plan to establish a council for administrative and fiscal digital reforms.

A new ministerial post to oversee such reforms is planned to be created, with digital minister Taro Kono helming the post.