Tag - budgets

 
Menu
Search
 
July 01, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

BUDGETS

Yuichiro Tamaki, head of opposition party the Democratic Party for the People, says the government should present a five-year road map toward achieving a primary surplus by around 2030.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 20, 2026
Japan’s opposition DPP presses for 5-year road map to primary surplus
Democratic Party for the People leader Yuichiro Tamaki said that while a deficit is acceptable in the near term, Japan should aim for a surplus by around 2030.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks during a news conference at the Defense Ministry in Tokyo on April 8.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2026
Japan’s defense spending to reach 1.9% of GDP this fiscal year
Defense-related spending in the fiscal year through March 2027 would total ¥10.6 billion, approaching the gold standard 2% of GDP level.
Olivier Blanchard, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, speaks at a meeting of the Japanese government’s Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo, on March 26.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 16, 2026
Takaichi’s economic ambitions meet interest-rate realities and doubts about debt
The math is looking less favorable with the war in the Middle East fueling inflation and the BOJ ready to make a move.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a meeting of the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy at the Prime Minister's Office on Monday.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 14, 2026
Private sector representatives urge Takaichi to overhaul budget processes
The members of a key government panel also called for setting a new investment quota for crisis management and growth.
A woman holds a handheld fan bearing the image of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's wedding photo, during an election campaign event in Tokyo on Feb. 7.
JAPAN / Society
Apr 11, 2026
Debt-laden Japan should review spending on gender equality, survey finds
The results come from a taskforce, set up in an effort to emulate the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency, seeking cost-cutting suggestions from the public.
Kazuhiko Shigetoku, parliamentary affairs chief of the opposition Centrist Reform Alliance, speaks at a party meeting in the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 9, 2026
Parties call for extra budget amid concerns over energy crisis
There are concerns that currently available funds this may be insufficient if the conflict in Iran is prolonged and continues to disrupt global energy supplies.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during the Upper House budget committee meeting at parliament in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 7, 2026
Japan’s fiscal 2026 budget passes Upper House
The ¥122.3 trillion budget is the largest ever, reflecting Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s goal of an expansionary fiscal policy.
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives for a prime-time address to the nation at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD
Apr 4, 2026
White House seeks $1.5 trillion defense budget as Iran war drives costs
The proposal would lift Pentagon spending by more than 40% in a single year — the sharpest increase since World War II.
The Diet building in Tokyo in February
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 3, 2026
Japan’s budget likely to be enacted as early as Tuesday
The ruling bloc is looking to get the budget through the Upper House on Tuesday, but opposition parties have called for four rounds of intensive deliberations.
Yoshihiko Isozaki (right), the Liberal Democratic Party's Diet affairs chief in the Upper House, and his Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan counterpart, Yoshitaka Saito, attend talks at the Diet building on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 2, 2026
LDP abandons fiscal 2026 budget passage this week
Members of the LDP and the CDP agreed to hold a deliberation session on the bill Friday, effectively putting a vote off until next week.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at a session of the Lower House Budget Committee in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 30, 2026
Japan’s parliament passes emergency ¥8.56 trillion stopgap budget
Lawmakers across party lines were forced to resort to the temporary measure for the first time in 11 years.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks during an Upper House Budget Committee session on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 29, 2026
Some LDP members eye passing fiscal 2026 budget on April 7
The government and ruling parties aim to get the budget bill through parliament next week, but the opposition camp is demanding “sufficient” deliberations.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama speaks during a news conference after a Cabinet meeting on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 27, 2026
Government adopts ¥8.5 trillion stopgap spending package
Parliament is expected to approve the first stopgap budget in 11 years on Monday.
The Finance Ministry projected in December that revenue from tobacco tax increases would total ¥44 billion for the 2026 fiscal year and ¥116 billion in 2027.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 26, 2026
Tobacco and corporate tax hikes to help finance defense expansion
The new taxes are being introduced as the government is looking to secure over ¥9 trillion in defense spending for the 2026 fiscal year, reaching 2% of GDP.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks with Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama during a plenary session of the House of Councilors in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Mar 25, 2026
Takaichi prepares provisional budget as the nature of debate shifts
The development has provided ammunition for the opposition to accuse the Takaichi administration for political mismanagement.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama answers questions during an Upper House plenary session on Monday. Katayama said Tuesday that a provisional budget would be compiled to prepare for unexpected events, while noting that passing the fiscal 2026 budget bill by the end of fiscal 2025 remains "necessary."
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 24, 2026
Preparations begin for stopgap budget in case fiscal 2026 bill slips deadline
The prime minister is still aiming for the fiscal 2026 budget to be passed this month, but appears to be showing flexibility as ruling parties lack an Upper House majority.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in an Upper House Budget Committee on Monday. With the fiscal deadline approaching, the prime minister's government is facing pressure to secure enough support to pass the budget while avoiding accusations it is ramming legislation through parliament.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Mar 16, 2026
LDP tries to move carefully but quickly as budget deadline looms
The budget cleared the Lower House, where the LDP’s ruling bloc has a supermajority, but the path through the Upper House is much less certain.
A Lower House plenary session is held to vote for a fiscal 2026 budget bill on Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 15, 2026
Japan ruling bloc uses ‘power majority’ to push through fiscal 2026 budget
Opposition parties have intensified their criticism, calling the ruling bloc’s move a threat to fiscal democracy.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi speaks at parliament on Friday
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 13, 2026
Ruling bloc pushes fiscal 2026 budget through Lower House in supermajority flex
Opposition parties voted against the budget in a plenary session on the argument that it needs more time for deliberations.
Members of the Lower House Budget Committee meet in parliament on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Politics
Mar 5, 2026
LDP drops proposal to conduct fiscal 2026 budget deliberations on Saturday
The ruling party had proposed the weekend session in response to opposition concerns that time spent deliberating the fiscal 2026 budget bill had been insufficient.
Uruguay federation reportedly cancels charter flight after World Cup exit
Uruguay's Jose Maria Gimenez reacts after the team's loss against Spain at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Friday.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
India’s gig workers pay the price for exposure to New Delhi’s hazardous air
Rohit Kushwaha waits for a customer as he delivers his last parcel of the day, in New Delhi in January. His work as a delivery driver has helped pay the family’s bills, but has had a significant impact on his health.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Yen hits 40-year low against the dollar, breaking ¥162 level
Japan's currency broke ¥162 to the dollar on Tuesday in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.
‘The colors speak for themselves’: How Japan’s chroma bible went global
“A Dictionary of Color Combinations” is meant to function as a quick-reference guide for artists, designers and anyone with a passing interest in aesthetics as a quantifiable pursuit.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI
Digital marketer Netyear zeros in on generative AI

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER