The prime minister's office (Mainichi/Kan Takeuchi)

       TOKYO -- The Japanese government has decided on a policy of maintaining its target for restoring fiscal health and achieving a national and regional primary balance surplus in fiscal 2025, multiple government sources told the Mainichi Shimbun. An announcement will be made at a session of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy (CEFP) to be held in the near future.

       The government's "robust" policy that was approved by the Cabinet in June 2021 stipulated that the effects of the coronavirus on public finances would be verified, and that "the target fiscal year would be reconfirmed" during fiscal 2021.

       It is believed that the new developments are an attempt by the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to demonstrate its forward-looking stance toward fiscal rehabilitation.

       Primary balance is an index that shows how much of policy costs can be covered without relying on borrowed money. In response to changing the allotment of consumption tax revenue to making education free, in June 2018 the government had delayed the target year for achieving a primary balance surplus by five years from the original fiscal 2020.

       In its July 2021 mid- to long-term estimate, the Cabinet Office had set fiscal 2027 as the year for achieving a primary balance surplus on the premise that there was a high growth rate.

       (Japanese original by Tsuyoshi Goto, Tokyo Business News Department)

       Font Size S M L Print Timeline 0